The Despair Game
by Piccolo999
Summary: Sequel to Homecoming. I recommend reading that before you read this. Slade has returned and the only thing on his mind is Revenge. Revenge on the Titans. The Despair Game begins... Pairings: BBRae, StarNW.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

Well, as promised, her is the Prologue and the first Chapter of The Despair Game, the sequel to Homecoming. I couldn't be bothered posting them separately, because really, the Prologue isn't all that long. These chapters are going to be longer than the chapters in Homecoming because I have a lot more ideas for this one. Anyway, enough of the boring Authors Note - enjoy.

**The Despair Game**

Prologue

Somewhere on the outskirts of Jump city, inside one of the many abandoned warehouses, stood a tall, muscular, dark figure. Next to him was a smaller figure, slender and beautiful. These two figures were Master and Apprentice.

Slade Wilson, the tall, dark figure, was an aging man of around 40 years. He had short grey hair and a black eye patch covering his eye socket where once, a long time ago, his eye resided.

He is one of the deadliest men alive today.

In his youth, Slade was one of the armies most decorated soldiers. One day, he was approached and agreed to be a test subject for a medical experiment in resisting truth serums. However, what he didn't know was that the experiment was in fact a government attempt to covertly create meta-humans. After the experiment Slade was left bed ridden for quite some time, but eventually he recovered.

The experiment, unbeknownst to anyone but Slade, gave him enhanced strength and heightened reflexes. Also, instead of using the normal ten percent of his brain - like any other human – he is capable of using ninety percent, making him a master tactician. Indeed, Slade Wilson is a force to be reckoned with.

The slender figure, his Apprentice, was a young teenaged girl of around seventeen. She had the most gorgeous, long sparkling silver hair and the widest, sweetest smile one could ever imagine. Her slender body was agile and she was an expert in martial arts and the use of a Bo staff. She was Slade's new Apprentice, and with his help, would become a very talented fighter. Even more than she already was.

"Very good." Slade murmured, turning to face his Apprentice. "You have remarkable speed, agility and strength. Very good indeed. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you." His Apprentice replied, bowing to him.

"You will be more than a match for the Titans." Slade announced, stepping closer and closer to the mysterious girl. "Have you been studying them like I instructed my child?"

"Yes sir."

"Good." Slade stopped before her, holding up his hand and stroking her face almost lovingly. She closed her eyes and leant into his touch, almost savouring it. "Then it is time. Time for you to become what you were meant to be."

Slade raised a hand, pointing to something hidden in the darkness.

"Kill him."

"Yes sir." His Apprentice left his side, disappearing into the darkness.

"Kill him and take your place at my side." Slade continued, not even turning to watch his Apprentice. "Your rightful place at my side…"

A terrified yell came from inside the shadows, followed by harsh breathing and eventually the slumping thudding sound of a dead body hitting the cold hard floor, echoing throughout the warehouse.

The sound of footsteps, approaching Slade, and his Apprentice came into view again, carrying a dark piece of black cloth in her hand. She held it up and Slade inclined his head, smirking.

"Very good." Slade turned to face her. "You are ready. You know what to do."

His Apprentice raised the dark cloth and pulled it over her head, tying it in place. The mask was completely black; the eye lenses a haunting crimson red. It fell short of her mouth, leaving the lower half of her face open. Her dark red lips pulled up into a wickedly sweet smile.

"You are the Ravager now my child." Slade approached her, tilting her face up to look her in the eye, through the red lenses, smiling. "And you have made me very proud."

"Thank you father."

Chapter One

Garfield Logan sighed and rolled over in his bed, stretching out all four limbs and groaning to himself. He kicked his sheet away from him and sat up, rubbing his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. Inside the late teens room, and indeed, the rest of the Tower as well, the heat was swelling and growing irritating. Gar sighed once again, fanning himself with one hand and shuffling out of bed.

"Too hot." He groaned to himself, getting up and walking over to the door. A late night snack and a cold beverage should do nicely. And if that failed, a good glass of cold water over the head was sure to cool him down some.

He was practically naked, save his boxers - which had little red hearts on them - as he made his way down to the common room and the kitchen area. He didn't even think to put something on top. For one, it was way too hot for that. He was even sweating wearing nothing but his boxers. No sir, he was not going to be putting a top on any time soon.

As he traversed the tower Gar let his mind wander. It had been a week since he had discovered Terra's secret, and the blonde haired girl still did not know of her origins. And if he had his way, it'd stay that way. He didn't want the poor girl beating herself up over something that no longer mattered to him. Plus, he had no idea how his fellow Titans would react. Raven especially.

Raven.

Yeah, he was still infatuated with the girl. How could he not be? How could anyone not be? She was amazing. She was strong, beautiful, kind (in her own way) and just plain amazing. It was hard to explain. Something about her just drew him to her. He couldn't help it. Maybe it was the way she kept control of her emotions all that time, just so that the world would be safe. He couldn't even imagine what that must be like. How do you deal with something like that? That was why he thought she was the strongest person he knew, both in body and mind. That was why he loved her.

He vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to make her happy. He tried to make her smile, to see her wonderful smile. It was one of the most important things in his life. Making Raven happy - even if she couldn't show it. He wanted to do anything he could to make her happy, to make life better for her. That's why he would always be by her side, no matter what. That's why he went inside her and destroyed the Trigon Seed so that she could feel again. He would give his life for her - without a doubt.

It was a busy day for the Titans tomorrow anyway. They had a new team member arriving. Bart Allen, aka Impulse. He hoped Dick didn't want them all to be involved in Impulses first training session. He didn't know if he would be able to stay awake, not after this hellish night. It was just too hot to sleep.

Gar pressed the switch to open the door blocking him from the common room, and more importantly, the kitchen. After dark, Vic shut of all of the Titans systems down, except the security ones of course, which meant that all the automatic doors were no longer automatic. Hence pressing the switch.

As he made his way into the kitchen he didn't even notice the floating figure over by the Tower's main window. He went straight for the fridge, opening it and spilling light into the darkness of the room. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and some tofu before turning and plopping it down on the kitchen's counter, shutting the fridge door with his foot. He began to go to work on making himself a Tofu sandwich when a voice announced the other person's presence in the room.

"Hello Garfield."

Gar let out a terrified squeak and jumped, dropping the knife he was holding and raising his arms to cover his head. A soft laugh, almost not a laugh at all, came to his ears and he lowered his hands to take in the sight of a smiling Raven. He blushed.

"Raven." He rubbed the back of his neck, grinning with embarrassment. "Dude, you scared me."

"Really." Sarcastic - as always.

"What are you doing up this late?" he asked, trying to lead her away from his embarrassment. She wasn't going to let him off that easy.

"Not much." Raven was still smiling. "Do you need to go change those?" She motioned down to his boxers.

"No!" he shot back, covering himself and shooting her a mock glare. "You didn't scare me _that_ much!"

"Yeah." Raven made her way over to the stove and began to boil some water for her Herbal tea.

Gar went back to making himself a sandwich, still blushing. _Damn Raven and her sarcastic remarks_, he thought_. Need to change my shorts, yeah right; I'm not a baby._ He shook his head. She didn't mean anything by it. _Just wish I could get the better of her just once._

"So what are you doing up?"

He almost jumped again, not expecting her to start up a conversation with him.

"Uh…" Gar blinked, and Raven gave him an impatient look. "Sorry. Ah, I couldn't sleep. It's too hot, you know?"

"Mmm." Raven had her back to him, making her tea, and he watched as her hair brushed against her cloak as she went about her business. Even the back of her head was beautiful.

"You didn't answer my question." Gar said, turning back to his own task. "What you doing up?"

"Thinking." Raven said, simply. Gar was silent for a while, and Raven decided to continue. "It's nice at this time. Quiet. It's good for thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" Gar asked, unable to hide how curious he was.

"That's private." Raven replied.

"Sorry."

_Stupid Beast Boy!_ He mentally slapped himself. _Sticking your nose into her business._

"It's okay." Raven interrupted his mental berating. "So…you didn't see me on your way in?"

"Oh." Gar put the finishing touches on his sandwich and took a seat, taking a small bite before replying. "No. It's dark in here, and you don't exactly wear bright colours."

Raven smiled to herself. "Yeah."

"You saw me?" Gar asked, around a mouthful of tofu.

"I didn't need too." Raven brought over her cup of herbal tea and sat across from him, cupping the hot beverage and inhaling its scent. "I could have felt you coming a mile away. Your emotions are like a fog horn."

"Oh." Gar blushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Raven assured him, taking a sip. "It could be worse. You could be Kory." Raven mock shuddered. Gar laughed.

"Is it bad?" Gar eventually asked. "Feeling emotions I mean."

"Not all the time." Raven replied, after thinking about it for a while. "Depends. Kory is mostly happy, so it's not that bad. It gets a little weird when she's with Dick though." She shuddered again, with a smile this time. Gar laughed. "Vic's mostly calm, but sometimes he can get out of hand, mostly during fights, when his emotions take control. I'm normally too busy fighting myself to notice though. It's your emotions that are the weirdest, I have to say."

Gar frowned.

"No." Raven took a sip. "I didn't mean it like that. It's like everything about you is instinctual. Your animal side is always affecting everything. Your emotions are kind of jittery. It's strange."

"Erm." Gar rubbed the back of his neck again. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Raven tried to ease him. "It isn't that bad. Just sometimes it's a little…it sometimes gives me a headache."

Gar frowned again.

"Don't worry about it though." Raven continued. "It's okay. I've learnt to handle it."

Gar wasn't assured. He was giving Raven headaches? Why was he just finding this out now? He didn't like it. He wanted to help her, but instead he's been hurting her? Not good. Wait, she didn't mention Dick…

"Wait." Gar looked up from staring at his half eaten sandwich. "You didn't mention Dick."

"Dick's different." Raven replied.

"Different?"

"Yeah," Raven paused, thinking, and taking a sip of her tea. "I don't feel his emotions."

"Why?" Gar was curious. Very curious.

"He's learnt how to keep his emotions suppressed." Raven finally replied. "It's like a mind block, but with your emotions. He's like a blank slate to me. It's soothing, really."

"Oh." Gar was feeling a little jealous now, but he tried to suppress it. He didn't do very well.

"You're jealous?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gar blushed. "Well, you see, I…" The conversation would have to be delayed though.

"Mornin' Y'all." A boisterous voice announced the arrival of Victor Stone. He walked with a loud clunk on each step over to the kitchen counter, leaning over Gar's shoulder and sniffing at the half eaten sandwich, before his face twisted into a grimace. "Eww man. When are you gonna eat some real food?"

"Real food?" Gar fumed. "Tofu is real food! It's better than those poor animals you're always eating!"

"Oh can it you little grass stain."

"Me? Why don't you can it ya over grown tin can!"

"Tin Can? Oh dawg you done it this time!"

Raven just sat and watched with a small smile as the friendly fight between Gar and Vic escalated further. By the end of the morning she had forgotten all about the surge of jealousy in Gar.

(----)

Jump City's train station was flooded with people, both boarding and disembarking. Some even waiting for friends and family to arrive. One particular teenager was moving gracefully between the crowds, or trying to. A rough shoulder smashed into his side and sent him reeling, where he was knocked backwards by another.

This particular teenager was short for his age, had unkempt brown hair that was around mid length and fell all around his head in every direction. He had the strangest golden eyes - like an eagles – and big feet. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans and was currently shouldering a rucksack and attempting to drag a suitcase full of clothes behind him.

His name was Bart Allen, aka Impulse.

Bart sighed and sagged onto a nearby railing as he finally got outside the busy train station, taking a few deep breaths. He looked at his watch and then off into the distance, where Titans Tower stood tall and majestic. He was late. No surprise. If only he didn't have to drag this stupid suitcase with him, he could have just run all the way here. Now he had to find a taxi to take him to the Titans underground transport system that would get him to the island.

"Great." He muttered to himself as he began to once again drag his suitcase behind him, holding out a hand to call a taxi.

Thankfully it didn't take him long and he finally arrived at the underground transport building. He entered and made his way down the cold stone steps. A small hand sized scanner was attached to the wall by a blue door, which was locked. He pressed his hand to the scanner.

"D.N.A. scan complete." A metallic voice chimed. "Bart Allen, you have been cleared for access to Titans tower."

"Finally." He muttered, walking through the now open door. A large metal pod was waiting for him on the other side, the door sliding open just as he entered.

"Please step in and buckle up, thank you." The same metallic voice chimed. He gave the ceiling a mock salute and stepped into the pod, the door swishing shut behind him. A churning sound followed by the whoosh of water rushing past him and he was on his way.

Reaching the other side, Titans Island, the door swished open again and he stepped out. He proceeded to make his way up a similar set of stone steps until he finally reached another door, one that opened onto the rocky island of the Titans. A small path led up to the front door. He made his way there.

He stood outside the front door, wondering if he should just knock or walk in. Raising his hand, he prepared to knock, when the door opened and a golden angel almost collided right into him. He jumped back with a cry. The angel did the same, charging up two emerald balls in each hand.

"Uh." Bart smiled shakily. "Sorry."

The angel – or on closer inspection, girl – dropped her hands and dissipated the two emerald orbs before looking down at him (for she was considerably taller than him) with a confused smile. She had long flowing Auburn hair and her skin was a strange orange, almost golden, colour. She was wearing a purple one-piece costume that consisted of a bikini style top and a very short mini skirt, connected in the middle, covering her belly button. Her hands where covered by gauntlets and thigh high boots adorned her very long legs. In other words: she was a goddess. He only knew her by the name Starfire.

"You are Bart Allen?" she asked in a soft, angelic voice. _Defiantly suits the appearance,_ he thought with a blush.

"Uh." He nodded, words failing him. She smiled.

"Wondrous." She clapped her hands together, beaming. "We were beginning to think you had gotten lost. Come." Starfire grabbed his hand and suitcase (lifting it like it was nothing but a feather!) and dragged him into the tower.

She flew so fast he didn't even have time to take in his surroundings until they eventually stopped in a large rectangle shaped room with a very large window. In fact, the whole wall was a window. Nice. A kitchen area was to his right and a large round table and a few chairs where situated on his left. Before him was a large T.V screen and circular couch, where the two other teens currently sat.

"Friends." Starfire called, moving over to where the two other teenagers sat playing what looked like the newest racing game for the Gamestation X. He wasn't a fan really. The two teenagers paused the game and turned to look at them.

The one on the left was the shortest. He had forest green skin, matching hair - just a slightly darker shade – and green eyes. He was obviously wearing his costume – a tight fitting white outfit with purple sections around his neck, upper arms and waist. Bart couldn't see his footwear but he guessed they were purple too. He was right. Bart also knew that this was Garfield Logan, aka Beast Boy.

The boy next to him was Victor Stone, aka Cyborg. Most of his body was composed of metal parts, the blue circuitry showing through in some areas. He was an African American and had a short tuft of black hair growing on the right side of his head – in other words, the human part. Bart knew him from when he came to see him a few weeks back.

"Hey Bart!" Vic greeted, giving him a smile. He smiled back.

"Hey." Bart dropped his rucksack down onto the floor and approached them. "This that new racing game…what's it called?"

"Total Speed Vol2." Gar supplied. Bart grinned, yeah, he was right.

"Yeah." Bart leant over them as the two turned back to the game, watching as they went back to playing. "I prefer the new X-box console."

Gar made a funny noise in the back of his throat and mock spat to the side. "Traitor."

Bart laughed. "Wish I could have brought it with me." He said, almost jumping as Starfire appeared at his side without making a sound. He looked down. Yup, she was hovering.

"Why don't ya just go pick it up later on?" Vic suggested. "Should only take ya a sec right?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Probably will."

"Friends." Starfire eventually said. "I shall go inform Dick, Raven and Tara of Bart's arrival?"

"Sure Kory." Vic said, not really paying attention. "Go ahead."

Starfire nodded and flew out of the room.

"That's weird." Bart commented.

"What's that dude?" Gar asked, mashing the control on his joy pad as Vic took over him.

"The hovering." Bart answered. "Doesn't it scare you? I mean, how you supposed to know she's there?"

"Ah," Vic leant to the side as his virtual car bashed into Gars, grinning all the way. "You get used to it. Plus, you'll soon find out Kory isn't always the quietest person. Ha! I got ya now you little grass stain."

Bart laughed as Gar's car wiped out, tumbling head over heels (figuratively speaking) and coming to a halt on its side, smoking.

"Dude." Gar moaned.

"Man, you suck." Bart commented.

"Let's see if you can do any better then huh?" Gar challenged, throwing the joy pad back at him. Bart caught it easily and hopped over the back of the couch to take a seat between the two Titans.

"You're on!"

A few minutes later and Vic's car was left in much the same fashion Gar's was previously. Bart grinned. Vic clenched his teeth and tried with all his might not to crush the joy pad under his enormous strength. He was saved from trying by the sound of a new voice.

"Hey," the voice called. "Everyone gather over here."

Bart looked over to the speaker and found himself looking at a tall, well-built black haired teenager. He had his hand draped around Starfire's waist and was wearing a black skintight uniform with a blue bird emblazoned on the front. An equally black mask covered his eyes. This was the former Boy Wonder Robin, or Nightwing as he was now called. Bart didn't know his real name. Not many did.

"Come on." Nightwing pressed. Bart hopped over the couch and the next second he was standing in front of Nightwing, who nodded his head. "Fast."

"Fastest." Bart grinned.

"Perhaps." Nightwing held out his hand. "Welcome to the Titans Impulse."

"Thanks." He took the offered hand and shook it. "Call me Bart."

"Okay." Nightwing nodded. "You can call me Dick then."

"Sure Dick." Bart's grin widened.

"Yeah," Dick swatted him on the head. "Get it out of your system."

"Dick, Dick, Dick, Dick." Bart sang, his grin getting wider. Eventually: "Okay, I'm done."

"Good." Dick motioned over to another figure that had just entered. "This is Terra."

Terra was a cute blonde haired girl with sparkling blue eyes. She wore short blue shorts, a brown jacket over a black t-shirt and finally a pair of goggles atop her head, resting on her forehead. She held her hand out.

"Tara." She said, simply.

He took her hand and shook it. "Bart."

"And finally…" Dick pointed to a girl standing just behind Tara. "That's Raven."

He couldn't really see any of Raven's features, as he hood was currently up and covering most of her face. He could see that she had nice full lips and a pretty nice figure though. She wore a dark blue cloak that fell around her shoulders and underneath that a black spandex suit and fingerless gloves that reached up past her elbow.

"Hey." He said, giving her a smile. He hoped to coax her into lowering her hood so he could get a better look.

"Hi."

He failed.

"Well," Dick said, bringing the spotlight back onto himself. "That's all the Titans. You've already met Vic and Gar I think." Bart nodded. "Right then. If you'll come with me, I want to see what you can do. The others will take your stuff up to your room and I'll show you to it after we're finished."

"Now?" Bart asked, frowning.

"Yes." And Dick made his way out of the room, expecting Bart to follow. Bart sighed, gave a mock bow to the others and took of at top speed to catch Dick. In other words, he was with him in a less than a second.

(----)

Bart's training session went well, the speedster showing skill and potential. He was a little impulsive, Dick decided, but altogether he would be a welcome addition to the team, as Vic recommended. Funny though, Impulse being impulsive. Dick shook his head to clear that thought and turned his attention back to his girlfriend.

Kory was sitting next to him, her head resting on his shoulder and one of her fingers was idly tracing circles on his shirt, which had rode up a little. They were in his room, lazing the day away. Dick turned his head to look at her and found she had her eyes closed. He could have sworn she was asleep. Obviously she wasn't though, so he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and leant his own head back against the wall, thinking.

As was expected of the sometimes over obsessive teen he had done momentous amounts of research into the ware bouts of Slade and had so far come up with nothing. Zilch. Nadda. Every lead he found led to a dead end. Every source he had came up with either nothing or something of little importance. He'd even – reluctantly – contacted Bruce, and not even his mentor had found any leads on Slade.

_He's keeping a low profile_, Dick thought. _And he's planning something big. I just wish I knew what. Damn._

"Dick?" Kory's voice cut into his mental conversation. He looked down at her, finding her eyes on him.

"Mm?" he murmured in reply.

"You are thinking of Slade again?" Kory continued.

"Sorry Kor'." Dick said with a guilty half smile. "It just drives me nuts not knowing what he's up to."

"I know." Kory turned to face him proper, cupping his face with her hands. "No matter what it is, we will stop him. You do not need to worry."

"Yeah." Dick smiled at her. "You want to take my mind of it?"

Kory grinned. "And what did you have in mind Mister Grayson?" she asked, her eyes batting flirtatiously.

"Well," Dick pretended to think, but before he replied pulled her close for a long kiss. When they finally broke he said. "How about showing me that Tamaranean dance you kept mentioning last week?"

"Oh." Kory kissed him briefly. "And what makes you think you deserve to see the Dance of Limber?"

"This." And he once more brought her lips to his own, kissing her passionately, forgetting all about Slade and his usual troubles. As was usual for all their make out sessions nothing mattered to him but Kory. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to last…

_Swish._

"Oh. Ah. Sorry."

Kory and Dick broke apart and both turned to face the blushing (if that's even possible for a guy with green skin) Gar Logan. He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned at them with an embarrassed look.

"Forget to knock?" Dick asked icily.

Gar gulped. "Sorry. I'll come back later." He turned to go.

"What is it?" Dick asked. Gar paused.

"I just wanted to talk to you about something." Gar said, turning a little to look at him. "Forget it. I'll just see you later."

"Wait." Dick called out again, and once again Gar stopped. "Kory." He lowered his voice, whispering in her ear. "You go to your room. Get ready for that Dance. I'll be there shortly, okay?"

Kory smiled and nodded before rising into the air and taking off, calling back a farewell to Gar. Gar turned fully to look at Dick, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." Dick said, taking a seat on his chair and motioning for Gar to join him. Gar did. "So what's the problem?"

"Well," Gar paused, still looking a bit sheepish before finally continuing. "I was talking to Raven earlier, and she said that, you know, when she's around me my emotions sometimes give her a headache."

"Okay?" Dick said, raising an eyebrow, obviously wanting to know what this had to do with him.

"I know what you're thinking," Gar went on. "What's this got to do with you right? Well, Raven also said that when she's around you she doesn't even feel your emotions. You, like, block them or something, right?"

"Yeah," Dick confirmed. "Bruce learnt it a while ago from J'onn and he taught me how to do it. It's pretty much the same as a mind block. It's easy, if you know how, really."

"Yeah?" Gar asked, his face lighting up. "Well, do you think you could teach me?"

"To block your emotions?"

"Yeah." Gar nodded vigorously. "I mean - I don't want to be giving Raven headaches. I don't mean too, and if I can do something about it, I want too. You know?"

"Yeah," Dick nodded. "I'll teach you then, if you want."

"Sure." Gar beamed. "That'd be great dude. Thanks!"

"So," Dick paused, thinking, and then went on. "You really like Raven don't you?"

Gar gulped. "Like her? Sure, she's a great friend…"

"I meant as more than a friend Gar." Dick said, his tone serious. "You know that." Gar opened his mouth to protest. "Don't bother trying to deny it. Besides, I think it's great."

"Ah." Gar blinked. "You do?"

"Sure." Dick said. "Raven deserves a cool guy like you. I think you two would be great together."

"Really?" Gar grinned, but then his face suddenly became downcast, and he lowered his head. "Oh who am I kidding? Like it matters anyway. She wouldn't even look at me twice."

"What?" Dick leant forward in his chair. "Don't be stupid Gar. You'll never get her to realise how much she likes you if you act like that. Be confident."

"You think she likes me?" Gar asked, confused.

"Yeah," Dick nodded. "She's just not looked at you in that light yet. She sees you as a friend, but that doesn't mean it cant change. I'm not stupid. I've seen the way you look at her, how you're always there for her, no matter what. Vic too. Even Kory sees it. The only people who don't see it are you and Raven. You're too wrapped up in self doubt to realise how much Raven _does_ like you and she's been to preoccupied with…something else, to even put much thought into it. But, once she does, I'm sure she'll figure it out. When she does, you have to be ready, got it?"

"Yeah." Gar nodded, still looking a little sceptical, but smiling. "You really think that she likes me?"

"I do." Dick stood. "We'll talk more about this, and your emotion blocking lessons, later, okay? I've got a date with my girl." Dick grinned.

Gar grinned back, nodding. "Yeah."

"See you." Dick left without another word, leaving Gar to think about all that was said. Gar sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

_Raven like him? Garfield Logan?_

"I sure hope so."

(----)

Victor Stone was busy working on his ever-precious T-Car when Tara came to pay him a visit. It was getting to be late afternoon and he was almost finished checking over the Car's engine when the skinny blonde haired girl made her presence known.

"Hey Vic."

Vic looked up, peering over the bonnet of the car to find Tara standing at the bottom of the steps that lead back up to the higher levels of the tower. The garage of Titans Tower was – like most other garages – a total mess. Dirty oil rags clogged up the workbenches, and while Vic tried to keep it clean, it was always hard work. Currently, the T-Car was situated in the center of the room, covering most of the space.

"Hey." He mumbled, before going back to work.

He really wasn't all that thrilled to see her. It was a confusing thing, having a person you thought dead - and that had betrayed you too - come back into your life like nothing had happened. He didn't hold it against her, as this Terra was not the same one that had betrayed them, but all the same, it was difficult and very uncomfortable.

That's why Vic had been mostly avoiding the girl.

"How's everything?" Tara asked, making her way over to him.

He busied himself in his work and mumbled his reply. "Fine."

"Oh," Tara sighed. "Good. I'm glad."

A long silence.

"Did you want something?" Vic finally asked.

"I just…" Tara stuffed her hands in her pockets and shrugged, her eyes downcast. "I was just wondering if you would like some help? Maybe?"

"Nah," Vic stood, cleaning his hands with one of the dirty rags. "I've got it covered girl. Almost finished."

"Oh." Tara turned her back to him. "Okay." And began to walk away. She stopped at the door, turning her head to see Vic looking at her. "Look. I know it must be hard, but I'm sorry okay. I know you don't like spending time with me. I understand, but I want to regain all of your trust - every one of you. It's not just Gar or Raven; it's all of you. So I'm sorry, and I hope someday we can talk like we – you – used to with Terra." She turned her back again and left the room.

Vic sighed and went back to work with a lot more on his mind from when he started. Indeed, he had a lot of thinking to do.

(----)

The Titans were in the middle of having dinner at their favourite Pizza place – as a welcome to Bart – when they first noticed the plume of smoke rising into the sky not far from them. They quickly hopped into the T-Car and it didn't take long for them to pull up by the kerb, not far from the gathering of Fire trucks and the burning building. Nightwing quickly ran over to the chief fireman whilst the rest of the Titans went to help out where they could.

Beastboy took the form of an elephant and started spraying water all over the burning, seven story hotel.

Raven used her powers to trigger all of the nearby hosepipes and directed the water flow at the building.

Starfire and Terra flew up into the air and started helping out any trapped hotel employee's or customers that happened to be by the windows.

Cyborg charged into the building, his lungs not needing all that much air anyway, seeing as most of his body was mechanical.

Impulse was quickly carrying the rescued over to the paramedics and – in some cases – to the hospital itself.

After a brief chat with the chief fireman Nightwing went into the building to help Cyborg with anyone trapped deep inside the burning building.

All in all, it didn't take long for the Titans to have the problem fixed. As the crowd cheered Nightwing approached Impulse and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," Impulse looked up. "Why don't you do a good check through the building, just in case we missed anyone?" Raising his voice to the rest of the Titans. "And then we can get back home to our dinner."

The Titans nodded and Impulse was gone in a flash.

Inside the building Impulse was having to travel in short burst around the building, so that he didn't collide with any of the fallen and burnt debris. That wouldn't be good, after all. He finally reached the top and came to a stop, looking around the last floor. He nodded to himself. It was clear.

_Time to get back to the_ –

**Fft!**

Impulse froze. Literally. He couldn't move. _What the_? He thought, trying desperately to move his body. Nothing!

"Your metabolism will break down that tranquilliser in less than a minute," a cold, hard voice stated. "But that's all I need. I have a message for you. For you to give to the Titans, in fact."

Impulse felt the clunk of a heavy object hitting his knee.

_Oh no._

"Tell them this…" a pause. "Slade wants them to know. The Game has begun. Watch your backs."

**BANG!**

(----)

**Piccolo999 **


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

**The Despair Game**

Chapter Two

Bart couldn't remember much after his kneecap was blown away by the shotgun blast. It was all hazy. He vaguely remembered hearing Cyborg finding him lying sprawled on the floor, blood gushing from his injury like a never-ending fountain. Then he was being moved - lot's of loud, panicky voices. Cyborg and the rest of the Titans must have rushed him to the T-Car because the next thing he knew he could hear the passing traffic whizzing by and the screeching tires caused when Cyborg took hard turns. Then the noise increased, whirling around him in a haze, going from unrecognisable to almost perfectly clear.

He was in the Hospital.

"This boy needs help!"

"He was short in the knee!"

"…Partially healed. Doesn't look right."

"…Heightened metabolism. Heals quickly…"

"His body will negate any Anaesthesia."

"What?"

"We need to move fast!"

"This is going to hurt Impulse."

"Just cut it!"

And through it all, one voice rained clear - the voice of Wally West: the Flash.

_Bart's a good kid, but I don't know how much I believe in him._

(----)

Victor Stone paced the floor of the hospital waiting room, glancing at the door where Bart was being operated on. His metallic feet made constant clanging sounds on the tiled floor as he moved back and forth. Dick and Kory where sitting in uncomfortable plastic chairs as they watched Vic pace. Raven was standing by the wall, half leaning against it. Gar and Tara had gone to get the group some coffee.

"Vic," Dick said, his voice sounding a little annoyed but understanding. "Cut it out. Sit down."

"Man how can you be so calm!" Vic rounded on him. "Bart could be seriously hurt! It's his first day and already he's in the hospital. Doesn't that worry you?"

"It's not our – or your – fault." Dick said, evenly. "I understand how you feel responsible. You were the one to recommend him after all, but it isn't your fault, or ours, or Bart's. Something obviously happened in that building but until Bart gets better - and he will - we'll just have to keep our cool. Got it?"

Vic sighed, his shoulder slumping. "Yeah, I guess." He raised his head, staring at Dick. "You think this has something to do with Slade?"

"Maybe." Dick ran a hand through his hair. "But we have no way of knowing right now. Besides, it doesn't really have Slade written on it, does it? Why would he shoot Impulse in the knee and then leave him? It doesn't make sense."

"Might he have thought that would be enough?" Kory asked, joining in.

"No." Dick shook his head. "Slade's smart, he'd make sure Impulse was dead if that's what he really wanted. Besides, the building was under control by then, it just wouldn't make sense."

"Then we have no idea." Vic stated.

"Correct." Raven added. "So we should not worry. Dick is right. All will be revealed in time."

"Yeah." Vic looked over at the door once again before taking a seat.

Despite this, Vic was still worried. He still felt responsible. Dick was right, he was the one that recommended Bart be allowed to join the Titans, and now he was hurt. It was partially his fault. Vic shook his head. It was too early to be blaming himself. Besides, Bart was going to be fine. He was a tough kid. Right?

"Hey guys," Gar walked over to them, carrying two cups of coffee. Tara followed, also carrying two cups of coffee. "Sorry about the delay. Who knew hospital vending machines had cues huh?"

Tara laughed as she handed Kory and Dick their coffee. "How's he doing?" she asked.

"He's still in the operating room." Vic said, casting another glance at the door.

Gar sat down in a seat by Raven, followed by Tara. He handed her one of the cups he was carrying as he spoke. "So how long will this take?"

"Not sure." Dick said. "We just have to wait and see."

"Right."

(----)

It was a few weeks ago when The Flash had arranged for Bart to join the Teen Titans. Victor Stone, aka Cyborg, had come over to where he was staying with the Flash. Vic and Bart had done all sorts of things together whilst Vic was staying with them. They hung out, watched T.V., and played football, everything. But most importantly though - they had trained. Bart must have made a good impression anyway, because Vic agreed it would be good for him to join the Titans.

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is, after one of those training sessions Wally had told Bart to go upstairs and finish his homework (for he was temporarily going to school whilst staying in Keystone city). Bart - being the nosy kid he is - decided he wanted to hear what the two where talking about, so he sat on the top step and listened.

"So, what do you think?" Wally had asked.

"Well," Vic paused, thinking. "He is fast and does have a lot of potential. He can be a bit Impulsive though, that could be a problem."

"Yeah," Wally agreed. "But that's why I want him to join the Titans. I know you and Dick can teach him some very important lesson's a Hero needs to know. It'd be great for him and for the Titans."

"You're right." Vic said. "I just hope he doesn't mess up. That wouldn't be good."

"Mmm." Wally murmured. "Yeah. I like Bart, he's a good kid, but I don't know how much I believe in him."

"Dude," Vic laughed. "I'm going to recommend him to Dick, okay. I think your right. He will be a good Titan. And with a little bit more training I'm sure he'll make a great Hero someday."

"I sure hope so."

Granted, Bart shouldn't have been listening in, but he was. Those words stayed with him everyday, and every night, haunting him. The Flash didn't believe in him? He didn't think he was worthy of taking on the Flash's mantle? Well, Bart was going to prove him wrong. You damn right.

(----)

Finally, after what felt like hours to Vic and the rest of the Titans the doctor finally left the operation room, walking over to them. His name was Doctor Rovin. Dick stood up and approached him, standing next to Vic.

"How is he?" Vic asked, hurriedly.

"He's fine Mr. Stone." Doctor Rovin said, wiping his hands on a cloth. "The surgery went fine. He's currently resting."

"How long will he have to stay?" Dick asked.

"It's amazing, really." Doctor Rovin said. "The speed at which his body heals. Just amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if he was up and walking by tomorrow morning."

"So he's okay?" Vic asked again.

"Yes." The Doctor answered. "Like I said, he's an amazing boy. His pain threshold must be huge, considering the ligaments we had to tear. Amazing."

"Yeah," Gar butted in. "Amazing, we get it. Can we see him?"

"I'm afraid not." The Doctor said. "He needs his rest and visiting hours are over for today. You are welcome to stick around and wait for tomorrow but I really think you should all go home and get some rest."

Doctor Rovin nodded to them all before turning and heading back the way he came. Dick turned to the face the rest of the Titans, thinking.

"Okay," he said. "I think the Doctor is right - at least partially. We all don't need to stick around. Two of us should stay, any volunteers?"

"I'll stay." Vic said.

"Me too." Tara added before anyone else could.

"Okay then." Dick nodded. "The rest of us should go home and get some rest. Come on."

Raven, Gar and Kory said their goodbyes to Tara and Vic and then took off down the corridor. Dick lingered. He motioned to Vic and the two stepped to the side as Tara took a seat on one of the hard chairs.

"What is it?" Vic asked, whispering.

"Look," Dick looked around, and then over to Tara, making sure she couldn't hear. Then he turned back to Vic. "I think you should stay on guard okay? Slade might be involved in this, and if he is, he might attack again. Don't tell Tara, I don't think she would handle it well, best not to worry her."

"Right." Vic nodded.

"Keep an eye out, okay?" Dick pressed.

"Sure."

Dick said a finally farewell to Vic and Tara and then ran off to catch up with the rest of the Titans. Vic sighed, looked around, and then took a seat next to Tara. This was going to be a long night.

(----)

Back at the Tower, inside's Dick's room, Gar was sitting across from the leader of the Titans, his eyes closed and concentrating. Dick watched – eating a bag of low fat crisps - as Gar tried to suppress his emotions, blocking them behind an impenetrable wall. Gar twitched and sighed, then opened his eyes.

"Dude," he ran a hand through his green hair, pushing it out of his eyes. "This is hard."

"Yeah." Dick nodded. "I never said it would be easy Gar. It's going to take weeks, maybe even months, for you to master it completely."

"How am I supposed to know when I've done it?" Gar asked.

Dick smirked. "You go ask Raven."

"Oh."

"You'll know Gar." Dick said, breaking the silence that had descended upon them. "It's hard to explain, but you'll know. It's like you can feel it. You feel different."

"Right." Gar closed his eyes. "So, I just focus on how I'm feeling, and then imagine a wall around it, yeah?"

"Yeah." Dick replied.

"Okay." Gar said. "I'm feeling…horny." Gar grinned. Dick threw a crisp at him. "Okay, sorry, just joking. Right. What am I feeling?"

"Stupid?" Dick supplied with a smirk. Gar didn't open his eyes, but raised his middle finger. Dick laughed.

Gar focused, searching through his feelings. He felt…he was worried about Bart. He was worried he wouldn't get the hang of this, and that Raven would have to put up with his chaotic emotions. He was slightly angry with himself for not being there to help Bart. He was feeling guilty for leaving the hospital. In short, he was feeling a lot of things. He sighed.

"Dammit!" Gar opened his eyes. "Dude, this is really hard."

"I know." Dick said, trying to hide his impatience. "Concentrate Gar. Don't lose focus."

"Okay." Gar closed his eyes again.

Worry.

Anger.

Guilt.

Okay, even more Anger, aimed more at himself. He had to get control of this and learn how to focus.

Focus - don't get angry. If Raven can do it so can you, so shape up Gar and get your act together. He mentally encouraged himself.

"How's it going?" Dick asked.

"Not too bad." Gar said, still concentrating on his emotions. "I think I've got the hang of this bit."

"Good." Dick replied. "Now make the wall, but don't lose focus on your emotions."

"I'm supposed to do this ever time?" Gar asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Dick nodded to himself. "It gets easier with time though. You'll hardly notice you're doing it soon. It's like natural. So don't worry, just concentrate. Create that wall."

"Right."

Create the wall, Gar mentally repeated. Okay, come on wall; let's get you built.

(----)

Inside the Titans common room, in the kitchen area, Kory sat, staring at the wall opposite her. Raven (who had been meditating over by the window) appeared by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Kory looked up.

"Worried about Bart?" Raven asked.

"Yes." Kory responded. "It is true what friend Vic said. It is a shame that he was injured on his first day as a Teen Titan. I hope it does not discourage him."

"I'm sure it wont." Raven said, taking a seat by Kory. "It comes with the territory. It happens; Bart must know this, so I doubt he would give up. He doesn't seem the type anyway."

"I hope so." Kory looked around. "Where are friends Gar and Dick?"

"I don't know." Raven looked up. "They said they were doing something important. Feels like Gar is in Dick's room, so they're probably together."

"Mmm." Kory hummed. "How do you feel about Gar friend Raven?"

"How do I feel about Garfield?" Raven cocked an eyebrow. "I don't know. Why?"

"Dick seems to think you would make a good couple." Kory said, offhandedly. Raven gaped at her.

"Me and Garfield?" she asked, in disbelief. "I don't think so."

"You do not think so?" Kory asked. "You do not think friend Gar is attractive? You do not like him?"

"I didn't say that." Raven defended. "Okay, I'll admit he is sort of cute, and he's a nice guy, but I don't think we'd fit."

"No?" Kory pondered this for a moment, then. "I disagree friend Raven."

"Oh really?" Raven quirked her lips up into a half smile, half smirk.

"Yes." Kory answered, turning to smile at Raven. "You are a very cute together. I think friend Gar cares about you greatly, like I care for Dick, like Dick cares for me. Do you not agree?"

"Garfield cares about me?" Raven shook her head. "Of course he cares about me. We're team mates, he has too."

"I do not think it is so." Kory held up her hand. "Dick has pointed out to me how Garfield will do anything for you."

Raven sighed. "Kory, I don't think it's that big a deal. Garfield would do that for anyone, it's not just me."

"Perhaps." Kory stood, stretching her long limbs and yawning. "But perhaps you might think about this some more. You may change your view. I am tired, goodnight friend."

Raven lowered her head, replying softly. "Night."

Kory might have been right. Garfield did do a lot for her, but that didn't necessarily mean he cared more about her than the others, did it? He just hasn't had the chance to do anything big for the others, right? Right.

Although, she had been thinking a lot more about Garfield lately, especially after what she saw during his worst memory. Dick's words came back to her:

"We are very much alike and that'll always make us special to each other, but that's not all you need for a relationship."

Not all you need…

Then perhaps Garfield and I would make a good couple, Raven thought. He is almost the exact opposite of me, but he also has been through a lot in his childhood. So then…

Are Dick and Kory correct?

…So much to think about.

(----)

Vic sat restlessly in the hard Hospital chair. Nurses filed past him and Tara as they sat quietly, a strong uneasy silence enveloping the two Titans. It wasn't that Vic didn't trust her, well, maybe not completely. The fact was, he just didn't know how to act around her. Was he supposed to be friendly, forget all about her clone's actions, and just act like he always had around the bubbly girl? That just didn't seem right. Maybe it was just him that wouldn't allow himself to become friendly with the girl once again. Maybe he was afraid of that.

Vic wasn't stupid though; he knew why Tara had volunteered to stay behind. She wanted him to be more open with her, more like they used to be. Man, it was so weird thinking about it like that. How was he supposed to refer to her or her clone? It didn't feel right calling her 'her clone'. It felt like he was taking something away from the original. It was all so complicated. Vic didn't like thinking about it, but he knew he had to. He at least owed it to the current Tara. She was trying. He had to as well.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Tara turning to face him. "Vic?" she asked, breaking into his mental dialogue. He turned to face her as well, leaning forward slightly to rest his arms on his knees.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Tara asked. "I mean you seemed upset about what happened to Bart. Oh, that sounded so mean, I'm sorry. I'm upset too. It's just; you're really upset, aren't you? Because you recommended him? You feel responsible right?"

"Damn girl," Vic sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "Of course I do. If something happened to him…" He trailed off.

"I understand." Tara said. "We all do. It's not your fault. I know, you can't help but feel that, but you have to know, deep down, that it isn't your fault Vic. It comes with the job. Like, sometimes, I feel really bad for what the other Terra did, but really, it's not my fault, I can't do anything about it. That doesn't mean I don't think and feel bad about it though. I guess its human nature."

"Yeah." Vic nodded. "You're right, I guess. Thanks Tara." He smiled at her a little.

She smiled back, nodding, her long hair falling around her face as she moved. "It's fine. That's what…friends are for, right?"

Vic looked up, the back down to her, smiling still. "Right."

"So we are friends?" Tara asked.

Suddenly, before Vic could answer, a shrill scream was heard coming from the other end of the corridor, followed by an earth-shattering explosion. The floor shook with the in pact and both Vic and Tara jumped straight to their feet.

(----)

Terra turned her head to look down the corridor, her hair whipping around with her, and almost froze at what she saw. A cloud of dust shrouded the latter end of the corridor, but just about visible inside the cloud was something that made Terra clench her fists into tight balls: The silhouette of a man she had no intention of ever meeting.

Slade.

Next to him were a smaller figure, but one with the same confident posture of one of the most deadly criminals on the planet. Terra glanced over at Cyborg as the half machine activated his sonic cannon and began to charge it up, aiming it at the shadow in the dust.

"Slade!" Cyborg roared, as nurses of both gender ran by, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Well, well, well," Slade purred in his snake like voice, sending chills down Terra's spine. "If it isn't one third of the Titans. Cyborg… and my dear, dear, Terra. Did you miss me girl?"

"Shut your damn mouth ya psycho!" Cyborg took an angry step forward. "I knew this had your name on it. What's it this time? Come ta take back your apprentice? Well, I got news for ya, she don't want one tiny little thing to do with ya! Terra's a Titan, and she's staying one!"

"Cyborg," Slade paused, taking a few steps forward, out of the mist and into view. He had his arms folded over his metal covered chest and the way he talked told you what you couldn't see because of the mask covering his face. Slade was smirking. "Do you really think I have any interesting in that back stabbing little girl? No, I have a new apprentice, one that will make short work of all you Titans, and make me proud. Ravager."

Slade held out one hand to his side and the Ravager stepped forward, holding a long bladed katana in her right hand, and smirking her luscious red lips at the two Titans.

"So if that's not what ya want, then what is it?"

"Revenge." Slade whispered, charging forward suddenly at great speed.

Terra's eyes widened though, because instead of attacking Cyborg, like she expected, the athletic sociopath went straight for her, smashing a fist painfully into her stomach and making her fall forward and sag onto his arm with a gasp. Terra struggled to breathe as all the air left her lungs. Slade slung her around and into the wall, where she gasped for more air and clutched a nearby chair to stay upright.

"Terra!"

(----)

"Terra!" Cyborg went for Slade, but to his own surprise the lithe figure of the Ravager cut him off. She dashed in front of him, slicing a fine arc across his chest plate. Luckily, she had only cut the surface. He looked down, then back up, glaring at her as she smirked and licked her lips at him. He raised his arm, but before he could fire his sonic cannon the girl (for she clearly was one) had disappeared. Cyborg balked.

He felt and heard another scratch across his left leg and turned around to find the Ravager leaning casually against the wall, the ever-present smirk still on her mask covered face. He looked down at his leg, finding as expected another scrape running along its length. He growled and clenched his fist as he looked up at her again.

"All right girl," Vic pounded his fist together, fist to palm. "You wanna fight, let's go!"

(----)

Terra was flung across the room by Slade and sent toppling over a row of nearby hospital chairs to land hard on her back. She groaned and pulled herself back onto her feet. It was too late though, as Slade was once again right before her, slamming his heel into her breast and forcing her back into the wall. She hit the back of her head on the wall and let out a hiss as she bit her own tongue. Channelling her earth moving power she looked up, only to find Slade right before her, clutching both of her hands and pinning her to the wall. He leant in close, and when he spoke, his voice was chilling.

"My dear Terra, you know that you are no match for me, why do you fight?"

"Let me go you sicko!" Terra hissed, glaring at him.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk Terra, is that anyway to talk to the man that showed you how to control these impressive powers of yours?"

"You didn't show me anything!" Terra continued to rage. "All you did is corrupt a poor innocent girl!"

"Terra, you talk like you're a different person."

"I am!"

A huge spear of hardened dirt came crashing through the other end of the corridor, heading straight for Slade. Unfortunately, the criminal was expecting that, and jumped out of the way at the last minute. The spear of rock flew past him, blocking his path to Terra, who glared angrily at him from her position against the wall.

Slade smirked under his mask.

"Foolish girl!" He raised his arms and brought them crashing down and through the rock with ease. Terra tried to hide her shock, but Slade could see it, and it made him smirk. He drew his Bo staff and thrust it towards her, catching her in the chest and driving the air out of her lungs again. He spun it around, clipping her jaw and making her tumble to the left. He followed.

Terra fell to her knees, crawling away from him rapidly, turning her head back to look at him as he stalked her. She raised her hands, which glowed yellow and shouted:

"Leave me alone!"

The broken fragments of her rock spear flew into the air and spun around Slade, circling him. He snarled and batted them away with his feet, fists and Bo staff, sending them flying into various areas of the corridor. By the time he was done Terra was already running. Again, he followed, almost at a leisurely pace.

Terra ran for all she was worth, looking back over her shoulder between gasps of air. He was still coming. She increased her pace, telling her mind and powers to raise a chunk of earth into the air. She reached the end of the corridor and the smashed open window and jumped, landing safely on the chunk of earth.

Slade picked up his own pace and jumped out after her, extending a grapple hook up onto the rock. He used his momentum to swing himself up and over to land on the large rock, facing the startled Terra. She screamed.

(----)

Cyborg blocked the Katana strikes with his metal arms, constantly backing up as the Ravager forced him backwards. He didn't know how long he could keep it up, because slowly but surely the blade was chipping away at his hard metal. He saw an opening though, and went for it, swinging his large fist forward. Ravager smirked and ducked, causing Cyborg eyes to widen. She spun her leg around in an arc along the floor, tripping him.

Dammit! Cyborg inwardly raged. How did she do that? How did she know that's what I was going do?

The Ravager was on him in an instant, flipping around to land, straddling his waist, sword held up high. Cyborg almost gasped, but managed to keep it in. The sword plunged down, only to be stopped as Cyborg clutched at it with both hands, trying to keep it from penetrating his chest plate.

"Not a chance girl," Cyborg ground out. "You're good, but I'm better."

The Ravager just smirked.

"What?" Cyborg continued, pushing with all his might to drive the sword back, but surprisingly failing. She was as strong as him. He ploughed on anyway. Have to find a weakness someway. "Not much of a talker huh?"

Nope, still no reply. Okay, he thought. Not wanna talk? Well I want ya too, so come on!

"So what?" Cyborg went on. "Slade got your tongue? Come on - say something."

"Okay," the Ravager purred, in a voice that was soft but carried a hard undertone to it. Probably from spending way too much time with Slade, Cyborg mused. "You want to talk. That's fine. I have something to tell you anyway."

"Oh yeah," Cyborg was still trying to force back the sword. "What's that?"

"Soon. Your friend Terra will learn the truth, and so will you, and then all the Titans will fall."

Cyborg glared at her. "The truth?"

"That she is nothing but a liar. Scum. A worthless human being that has committed the worst sin. Betrayal."

Cyborg growled and pushed with all his might, finally forcing the Ravager backwards. Unfortunately that's what she wanted, as on the follow through, the Ravager dropped her hand to her belt and drew a dagger, before slamming it full force into Cyborg chest. Cyborg gasped in shock and fell to his knees. The Ravager stood.

"Poor Cyborg," The Ravager droned. "But do not worry. Father and I have a lot more in store for you Titans."

Cyborg eyes widened as the Ravager stepped past him.

Father.

Then his systems went dead, as the Ravager turned and thrust her katana straight through the left (mechanical) side of his head. Cyborg's body slumped forward and hit the floor with a thud.

Round One: Ravager.

(----)

Terra hit the roof of the hospital in a shower of rock, rolling over and over until finally coming to a stop, panting for breath. She turned her aching head, looking up at Slade as he calmly walked towards her. It was a truly frightening sight. Slade didn't just beat you psychically, he did it mentally as well. Terra summoned up all her power and made the surrounding small rocks fly at him, but they just bounced and crumbled of his armour like nothing but compressed dirt.

"It is pointless to fight me Tara." Slade stated in an almost deathly whisper. "You know that you cannot win."

Terra clenched her fist tightly and glowered at him. Slade smirked.

"You wish to fight me little girl?" Slade laughed coldly to himself. "You could never defeat me. Not then, and not now."

"I'm not her!" Terra screamed at him, her hair flying out behind her as he powers overloaded, tearing a huge gash along the roof. Slade easily jumped out of the way, coming round at her with a right hook. Terra skidded to a stop, a bruise forming on her cheek, tears leaking down her face. She turned to face him, finding him looming over her.

"You are." Slade said, simply. "No matter how much you deny it. It is the truth. You are Terra. You are a _betrayer_. A _backstabber_. A lying little…_bitch_. It _cannot_ be escaped. It is _who you are_."

"No." Terra sobbed. "Beastboy said…Beastboy said the test was negative. I'm not Terra. I'm _not!_"

"He lied to you." Slade laughed. "I don't know why, but that foolish green boy was trying to protect you, so he lied. It hurts, doesn't it?"

"He didn't…he wouldn't." Terra clenched her fists tighter, her head bowed. "You're the liar Slade. I know."

"Then," Slade reached into his utility belt around his waist, before finally pulling out a few photos. "Explain this." He dropped them onto the floor by her feet; the pictures spreading out like a deck of cards. Slade laughed. "The truth always hurts Tara." Then he left, simply walking away, leaving the crying girl behind, alone on the rooftop of the hospital.

With nothing.

…Except the truth.

(----)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, I hope you liked this one as well. I'm sorry for the delay too, I've been too pissed off (and I wont go into why) to bother uploading it, so sorry.

**Piccolo999**


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

Okay everyone, sorry for the huge wait, but I've been in a bit of a downer as well as working on an original Short Story of mine, so…

Anyway, the wait is over, I hope people are still interested. Enjoy.

**The Despair Game**

Chapter Three

Indeed, the truth did hurt. Tara stared in shock at the photo's laying before her on the broken apart hospital roof. The Photos. Oh God…no. Tara swiped them away with her hand.

_It can't be true. No way! _She tried desperately to convince herself of this, but no matter what, she couldn't forget.

What was in the pictures?

Simple answer: Nothing. That was the problem.

Where Terra's statue once stood, was now nothing but air. There wasn't even any rubble. There was nothing. Tara shook her head. It just couldn't be true. Gar wouldn't lie to her…would he?

_No, he wouldn't! _Tara raged at herself._ Don't think that! He told us the truth! Slade is a liar! He's lying! He has to be. The photo's, they're just fake. Slade is trying to trick you. _

But no matter how much she wanted to believe it, she couldn't. Deep down, she knew it was the truth, and she always had. She was Terra. She was a betrayer. Scum. Just like Slade said.

"Tara?"

Tara looked up, shocked, her tearful eyes falling on the figure of Garfield Logan. Behind him, Tara could just about see Raven, standing a good distance away. She didn't care though. She stared at Gar.

"Tara?" he asked again. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"Gar?" she finally managed to choke out. "Is it true?"

"What?" Gar was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Is it true." She repeated, her voice an almost silent whisper. She continued. "That I'm Terra."

"What!" Gar gaped at her, shocked. "No, I told you. You're not…"

"Don't lie to me!" Tara jumped to her feet, her hands clenched angrily at her sides, glaring at him. Tears continued to stream down her face. "Don't lie to me Gar! I know! Tell me the truth, am I?"

Gar lowered his head. "Who told you this?"

"It doesn't matter!" Tara screamed at him. "Just answer me Garfield! Tell me the truth!"

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't want you to…I'm sorry."

"Oh god." Tara felt the strength leave her as she finally realised it was the truth, fully and undoubtedly. It _was_ the truth. She _was_ Terra. She collapsed to the floor, her hands covering her face as she cried out.

"Garfield?" Raven's voice asked, but Tara could hardly hear her anymore. She was lost in her own world, crying out in shear pain. It was too much. She didn't want this. She didn't want to be Terra. She could no longer even lie to herself though. Gar had confirmed it.

It felt like everything she had believed was falling apart, and it was. It was all a lie: her 'parents'. Everything. She was nothing. She had no family. She was nothing but a lost little girl who had betrayed her friends, the only thing that even came close to her family.

Tara's life crumbled around her.

She was the betrayer.

(----)

"Garfield?" Raven pressed. "Is that true? Is she the original Terra?"

Gar remained silent, staring down at his feet.

"Answer me!" Raven shouted, taking the few steps between them harshly to spin him around to face her angry face. "Answer!"

"Yes." Gar whispered.

"Why?" Raven asked. "Why didn't you tell us? We had a right to know the truth."

"I couldn't." Gar continued. "She's not the same Raven. If I told you, you'd have her kicked off the team, I know it."

"Of course I would!" Raven yelled right in his face. "She betrayed us Garfield. Betrayed you! How can you forgive her for that?"

"Because she's not the same Raven." Gar looked up, staring right into her eyes. "She's not the same person."

"She is." Raven stated blankly. "I can't believe you Garfield. I'm going back to the tower." Raven stepped back from him.

Gar went to reach out for her but before his hand could come into contact with her body she had already disappeared, vanished through a cloud of darkness. She was mad at him. He couldn't blame her really. He knew she'd react that way. That's one of the reasons he lied about it.

"I'm going too." Gar jumped, having almost forgot about the reason for all this. Terra. He turned to face her, finding her standing at the edge of the roof of the hospital, looking out at the horizon. "Goodbye Gar."

"Wait." Gar went to move forward, but like with Raven before he couldn't reach her and she had already disappeared over the edge of the building. She appeared once again, riding her stone chariot, vanishing soon after.

Gar sighed.

"Dammit."

(----)

Vic's systems came back online one by one, his body slowly coming back from the darkness of what can only be described by him as Limbo. His body soon regained most of its motor functions and his tired eyes - which felt like they where attached to ten-ton lead weights - finally opened. He gazed up into the normally happy face of Kory, finding her expression not as happy as was usual, something only those who knew her could see.

"Kor?" he rasped.

"Wonderful." Kory clasped her hands together, turning to face someone out of his range of view. "Friend Vic has awakened."

"Good." Dick's voice came to his ears, and soon after, his face also appeared above him. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Like I've been offline for way too long." Vic replied. "Someone get the license plate of that car?"

Kory frowned. "Car?"

Dick laughed. "I'll explain later Kory." Dick turned to regard him. "Who did this?"

"I don't know." Vic sighed, managing to pull his body into a sitting position. "It was Slade's new apprentice."

"Slade?" Dick snarled. "Dammit. Was he…?"

"Yeah." Vic rubbed his head. "He went after Tara. I lost track of what happened to her though, damn, is she okay?"

"We don't know." Dick sighed. "She's disappeared. Gar's not talking, and neither is Raven, she locked herself in her room. What else happened?"

"Oh," Vic stopped to think, trying to recall the name of Slade's new apprentice. "She called herself the Ravager."

"Like the Mercenary?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, but she was no man, dude. She was fast, and strong. It was like she knew what I was going to do before even I did."

"Damn." Dick turned away, beginning to pace. He always did this when he was frustrated. Kory watched him worriedly.

"Man, what happened with Slade? Where is he? What's going on?" Vic asked.

"We don't know." Dick lashed out angrily, kicking a nearby table topped with medical equipment over, sending them splashing across the floor. "I'm sick of this already! We don't know anything Vic, nothing. Slade disappeared before we got there, but he left Tara alive. And this Ravager also left you alive – offline, but alive. If she wanted to kill you she could have, easily. Why?"

"I hate to say it, but I have no clue." Vic suddenly looked up, eyes wide. "Bart! Is he okay? Maybe Slade came back to finish him off."

"No," Dick waved it away. "He's fine, plus, it's not like Slade. He doesn't want us dead, it's like he's just torturing us. Playing with us. I don't like it."

"Me either man." Vic agreed. "Me either."

(----)

Later that night, or rather morning, as it was close to seven-thirty, Kory and Dick travelled through (or above) the nearly deserted streets of Jump City, heading for the Hospital. Kory was flying next to Dick, as he traversed the rooftops with his grapple hook like it was second nature to him, and it was. As the two crossed the chasm of one building to the next, Kory turned her head to take in Dick's profile.

He didn't even look like he was concentrating. At least not on navigating himself across the city. No, Kory had seen that face many times; he was thinking. Thinking hard. Thinking about Slade. Trying to get inside his head. Even the naïve Kory knew that was a dangerous thought. She decided to interrupt his thoughts.

"Dick?"

Dick didn't seem to hear her, so she tried again.

"Dick?"

And again, he didn't seem to hear her. Kory sighed. He was so lost in thought he couldn't even hear the call of his girlfriend, his lover. She probably could stop right here and he wouldn't even notice. Not until he got to the hospital anyway.

They where on their way back to the hospital to visit and see how Bart was doing after his encounter with Slade and the subsequent surgery required to fix his knee. Or rather replace it. Kory wasn't too knowledgeable about Earth's medical procedures, like most Earth things in fact, but she knew at least basically what had happened to Bart. The thought made her cringe. He must have been incredibly brave. Although, he didn't really have a choice, did he?

Anyway, Dick wanted at least two Titans on watch until Bart was released, which was scheduled for later today. Most humans would have been out for months with an injury like that, but not Bart. Not Impulse. Everything about the boy was fast. It was incredible really.

Kory turned once again to face Dick, finding him still in his locked state of thought. Not like she had expected any different. She pulled to a stop in mid air, turning to grab hold of Dick's shoulder. He was dragged back in mid run and spun to face her, eyes wide. Strangely, they widened even further as they locked with something over her shoulder.

"_Get down!_" he bellowed, right in her face, pushing her down and out of the way. Kory felt the hairs on the top of her head brush through something long and sharp (she was pretty sure she lost a few too) before she hit the ground, Dick covering her.

He was up in an instant.

Kory rolled onto her back, staring up at the lithe figure of the Ravager. Well, she guessed it was the Ravager. Dick was by her side, hunched over with both escrima sticks drawn and held tightly at his side, his mouth an angry snarl. Over the Ravagers shoulder Kory could make out a shadowy figure.

"Hello Robin. It's been a long time. Too long."

"Slade."

(----)

Gar made his way through the corridors of Titans tower, heading towards Raven's room. No doubt, she would still be upset at him, but at least he would be making an effort. He didn't want Raven to be mad at him. All he wanted to do was apologise to her, maybe get her to understand his position in the whole situation. The whole damn messed up situation.

It was all Slade's fault. He was, as usual, creating problems between them all. First, he turned Dick (when he was Robin) into an obsessive nut job, which led him to eventually become Slade's apprentice for a short period of time. During that time Dick hurt all of the Titans, but mostly Kory, the one whose opinion mattered the most to him.

After that, he was the sole reason Terra turned traitor and betrayed them, and in the end gave her life to save them. Gar knew first hand the pain that caused the Titans. Mainly him. He loved Terra, and because of Slade she broke his heart.

Then he went as far as to return to life as Trigon's servant, leading to the events that almost destroyed Raven and the world. Thankfully, that situation turned out to at least have a moderate upside to it: Raven being able to feel freely again. Something she had never had in her entire life - In Azarath and on Earth.

All of that was Slades doing.

…And now this.

He had caused unnecessary pain to Bart (on his first day no less) and had told Tara the truth of her origins. That had created this mess. Raven was mad at him for concealing the truth about Tara. Tara was mad at him for the same reason, and what's worse, she was mad at herself. Gar just hoped she didn't do anything stupid.

Gar came to a stop outside Raven's room, heaving a great big sigh and knocking cautiously on the huge steel door. The knocks echoed back at him through the wall and he resisted the urge to shudder. Raven's room always seemed like tomb to him, with that same chilling noise echoing back at him every time he knocked.

He was a little afraid of the up coming encounter with the gothic looking girl, not because he thought she would hurt him, or because she usually didn't allow anyone inside her room (for Gar had in fact been in said room many times over through the years, just talking and hanging out with Raven). He was scared because he didn't want to mess things up further with her, which was actually likely to happen, with Gar's luck.

Eventually, Raven's monotone voice came through the door.

"What do you want Beast Boy?"

_Uh oh_, Gar thought with a wince. _Beast Boy. She really is mad._

"Err." Gar hesitated. "I just…can I come in Raven?"

"No."

"Oh." Gar flushed. "Well, can you come out?"

"No."

"Erm." Gar looked around, hoping to find something to help him. Not unexpectedly, he failed. "Look, I'm really sorry Rave. Okay? Please, I just want to talk, that's all."

She didn't say a word. Gar rubbed the back of his neck.

"You're really pissed at me huh?"

"Nice deduction Einstein." Raven's biting remark again made the green teen wince.

"Come on Raven, how am I supposed to make you understand if you won't listen to me?" Gar pressed on, vowing not to give up. He could be stubborn when he wanted too. Especially when it came to Raven.

"Did you ever think that just maybe I don't want to understand you?" Raven snapped back. "Scary thought that is. The day I understand you is the day I kill myself."

Gar's lips compressed into an extremely thin line and his hands clenched into fists. That one hurt.

"I'm not going to go away." Gar said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice so he would appear calm.

(-----)

It was quite pointless anyway, as Raven could feel how angry and upset that comment had made him anyway. She in fact chastised herself for it. She just wanted him to leave her alone. She never wanted to hurt him.

Normally, the Titans changeling would back of after she insulted him a bit, but today was different. He wasn't backing off. He was still outside her room. Raven frowned. She sat up off her bed and approached the door, stopping just short of it. Gar's voice came through the entrance once again.

"I mean it Rave. I think, erm, I think maybe this is what Slade wants. He wants us to fight each other and get upset and everything, you know? Are you going to let him win?"

Wow, he was actually using his brain. Raven smiled a little. He had a point. Had she thought more about it herself, she would have reached the same conclusion and would have at least gone and talked to Gar. Now though, he was right outside, and she wasn't one to be childish. She raised her hand to the access panel by the door and pressed the switch. The door opened with a _swish_.

"Come in Garfield."

Gar smiled. He entered her room, staying close by the door as she closed it. Raven moved away, heading towards a large bookshelf that took up most of the wall. It was littered with spell books and magic rituals, amongst other things. Raven took one of these books out, examining the spine absently. Gar watched her for a few moments before speaking.

"I want to say how sorry I am for keeping it from you Rave." Gar said. "About Terra. I shouldn't have done it, I guess, but you have to understand. I knew you'd react this way, and I don't think she deserves it."

Raven spun around, her face an angry mask. "Oh, you don't? You're saying you care more about that traitor than about your friends?"

"Raven." Gar interrupted. "Please, let me speak. You can shout at me all you want later. Just let me explain."

"Fine, go on."

"I'm not saying that I care more about her." Gar went on. "She's not a traitor. She's my friend just like you and the rest of the Titans. I care about all of you, and you know that Rave. You know how much I care. You guys are like my family."

"But she…"

"No Raven." Gar once again interrupted her. Raven scowled. "You see her as the same person. I don't. She's not like that anymore. She's different."

"No she isn't." Raven shot back. "That's just what _you_ want to believe Garfield. But you're wrong. She hasn't changed at all. She'll betray you again. It's all she can do."

"You're wrong Raven." Gar declared. He wasn't going to be nice about this. He had to make Raven see, and this was the only way. "You haven't spent time with her. If you did, you'd see how she's changed. You're the one that's wrong. You want to believe she's still a traitor because _you're_ afraid of getting hurt again. That's the real reason you can't see the truth."

Raven was astonished. Gar was actually admonishing her. He was actually using his brain.

"I'm not saying this to hurt you Raven." Gar continued. "I don't want that. You're one of my best friends, and I care about you, I just want you to understand. Think about it. You saw how upset Tara was earlier on the roof of the hospital. She was devastated. She doesn't want to be the real Terra anymore than you do. She hates herself for it. Honestly, I'm afraid of what she might do. She's out there right now, and for all we know, she might be trying to kill herself."

"Garfield…"

"I hope you understand why I did it." Gar said. "And I hope you can forgive me. That's all I wanted to say. So…"

Gar gave her a weak smile and turned to go, but Raven was suddenly right behind him, grabbing his arm. He turned to look at her.

"Maybe…maybe you're right."

"I'm not asking you to forgive her. Just don't give her a hard time."

"I understand." Raven said, almost as if she was ignoring what he said, but she had heard it. "I forgive _you_."

Gar smiled. "Thanks."

"I've been doing a lot of thinking." Raven let go of his arm, and Gar turned to face her fully. "About everything. I told Dick that I…"

"What?" Gar pressed.

"Nothing." Raven turned away, flushing slightly. She raised her hood to cover it, walking away. "It's nothing. Forget it."

"Rave," Gar walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, her red face partially hidden by the darkness under her hood. "If it was nothing you wouldn't have started to say it right?"

Raven scowled. "When did you become so smart?"

Gar grinned. "I'm not. It's just…what is it?"

Raven turned back away. "I told Dick I loved him."

Gar blinked. "What?"

"You heard."

"Yeah," Gar looked down at his feet. "But, you love him?"

"No." Raven corrected. "I said I told him that. I thought I did, but I was wrong. I care about him, but I don't love him that way." A pause. "You're jealous."

"Yeah." Gar admitted, his face flushing.

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"You like me?" Raven asked.

"Yeah." Gar nodded, even though Raven couldn't see that.

"Why?"

"Because you're amazing." Gar replied. Raven turned to face him as he continued. "You're strong…uh…and brave, and you're…very beautiful." His face was a complete mask of crimson now. He was still looking down at his shoes.

"That's all?" Raven didn't know what else to say. She had suspected, but never knew for sure. It was still rather shocking.

"No." Gar shook his head, looking up and locking eyes with her. "What I like about you most is how much you give, without wanting anything in return. How you could live your life with all your emotions bottled up inside you, just to protect this world, that's amazing. That's why you're amazing and that's why I like you. You're the strongest person I know."

"Thank you." Raven replied lamely. She had no idea what to do now, so she turned and went back to inspecting her books.

"It's okay Rave." Gar spoke again. "You don't have to say anything. I know you'd never like I guy like me. So don't worry about that. I'm just sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"That's…" Raven stopped, still having no idea what to say. Hearing Gar talk about her like that, like she was the most precious thing in the world (and to him she was), had made her feel something she hadn't truly felt in her entire life. Not even once. He made her feel love. She knew now for sure that she had never loved Dick the way she had thought. His words once again came back to her:

We are very much alike and that'll always make us special to each other, but that's not all you need for a relationship.

And then, Vic had said:

Sometimes you have to look closer at things to see the big picture.

And Kory had said:

I think friend Gar cares about you greatly, like I care for Dick, like Dick cares for me.

She was right. He did care about her like that.

Could her teammates see something she could not? Where they trying to tell her that she should pursue a relationship with Garfield? Should she?

"Well, good night Rave." Gar's voice came back to her. She spun around. He was leaving, walking through her doorway. She hadn't even heard the door swish open. She had to do something. Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. She had to stop him.

"Do you want to go on a date with me Garfield?" she rushed out.

Gar froze.

"Garfi – No!" Her words where cut off by a high scream, coming from her own mouth. Her eyes widened. "Kory!"

Gar spun around, his own eyes widening at her scream. "_Raven!_"

"Something's wrong." Raven said, looking up at him. "Kory's emotions are going haywire. Get Vic, we have to go!"

"Right."

(----)

Nightwing fell backwards as Slade's fist connected with his face. He went with it, coming to land in a crouch and went to sweep out Slade's legs from under him. However, the psychopathic criminal was way ahead of him, jumping into the air and flipping over his head. Nightwing raised and spun around to continue his attack but found himself falling foil to a knee to the gut. He arched over, letting out a gasp.

They were on top of a building not far from the hospital. Starfire was being kept busy by the Ravager a few buildings away. The rooftop was bare, except for a small hut that opened up to a staircase that led into the interior of the building.

Slade grabbed the back of Nightwing's neck and threw him face first into the nearby wall of the hut. Nightwing braced himself with both hands, stopping his momentum. He threw his leg out behind him, catching Slade in the stomach and knocking him back. Nightwing turned to face him, drawing his escrima sticks.

"I see you have some new toys Robin." Slade said, drawing his own weapon, an extendable Bo staff.

"It's Nightwing." Nightwing hissed back at him.

"Oh, you'll always be Robin to me."

Slade drove forward, stabbing at him with his metal staff. Nightwing blocked with his escrima sticks, his movements so fast it was hard to see. Slade saw them though, and countered by dropping to one knee and snapping at the teenager's knee. Nightwing dodged to the side, running away from the wall to come at Slade again. Slade batted both escrima sticks away and jabbed Nightwing in the chest with the end of his Bo staff. Slade spun, snapping at Nightwing's knee again, hitting it this time. Nightwing gasped and then fell victim to a shot to the face. He lost his footing, stumbling over to the edge of the building.

In the few seconds it took for Nightwing to brace himself and spin back around Slade dropped his Bo staff and drew out a long barrelled shotgun. He aimed it straight at Nightwing's wide eyes. Right then, for Nightwing, time seemed to freeze.

(----)

Starfire flew up into the air, turned, and raised her glowing green hands into the air, charging up a barrage of Star bolts. The Ravager raised her katana. Starfire's hands flew about rapidly as she fired a salvo of blasts at the stationary girl. The Ravager smirked and swung her blade in accordance to each blast, cutting them in half, dissipating some, and sending others flying off in the opposite direction. Starfire's eyes glowed as she flew back down and then opened wide as she fired a wave of green energy from them. By the time the attack hit the rooftop the Ravager had already moved.

Starfire pulled to a stop inches from the roof, looking around for any sign of the Ravager.

"Over here!" an angry voice called. Starfire turned just in time to be knocked back by a hard punch that sent her hurling through the air. She twisted around and came to a stop in mid air, now glaring at the agile apprentice of Slade.

The Ravager charged across the roof towards Starfire, her Katana held steady at her side. Before she reached the hovering Alien, however, a chasm of darkness formed a few feet before her and out of the expanse came Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg. Cyborg uncoiled his sonic cannon and aimed at the Ravager, who put on the brakes, skidding to a halt.

"Your lucks just run out girl."

(----)

On a nearby roof, Nightwing stared down the barrel of the shotgun, not even daring to move. Slade smirked under his mask.

"I wonder," Slade whispered menacingly. "Is that mask Bullet proof? Lets find out."

Nightwing clenched his eyes shut.

BANG!

…And then opened them again, frowning. What happened? Slade was looking around in shock, the shotgun having disappeared from his hand. Then a voice seemingly came out of nowhere - from all around them. Nightwing finally understood.

"Wasn't that a little overkill?"

It was Impulse. Slade spun around, throwing out his leg, aiming for where Impulse was, only to find he was no longer there. Slade stumbled as a fist struck him right in the face. Slade spun around, glaring, looking around everywhere.

"Impulse?" Nightwing called.

"Nope." Impulse's voice answered, and then he appeared. His outfit was different however. Gone was the old uniform, replaced with something resembling that of the Flash legacy. He was wearing a yellow and red spandex suit with a symbol of a red lightening bolt running through a circle on his chest. A mask covered the top half of his face, letting his hair fly out behind him. He charged right at Slade.

"**_Kid Flash!_" **

(----)

The Ravager ducked and weaved, trying to regain some semblance of order, but failing. She leapt to the side as a star bolt blew away part of the roof. Coming up to her full height she was smacked in the stomach by the swinging tail of a long extinct dinosaur – a Brontosaurus. She flew through the air with a gasp, all the air leaving her lungs, coming to land with a thud at the other side of the roof. She somehow managed to pull herself to her feet, glaring angrily at the gathering of Titans.

"Ravager, pull back, we can finish this later." Slade's voice whispered in her ear, and she nodded to herself, pulling out a small round device and throwing it to the floor. An explosion of smoke enveloped her, giving her enough time to slip away before the Titans realised she was even gone. She had no doubt they knew, but there was nothing they could do anyway.

(----)

Cyborg raced forward, waving his hands around to clear the smoke, looking around frantically. She was nowhere in sight. The Ravager had vanished. He silently cursed to himself and turned to face Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven, shrugging.

"She's gone."

(----)

Over on the other rooftop, Nightwing and Kid Flash charged at Slade, together. Slade jumped back, bringing forward his own smoke bomb and exploding it at his feet. His chilling voice called out through the newly created fog:

"This is just the beginning Titans. Watch your backs."

And he too was gone. Kid Flash buzzed around the rooftop but even he could not find the elusive Slade. Nightwing sighed, and then turned to face Kid Flash, who in turn was looking over at him from the northern edge of the rooftop.

"It's useless, he's gone, come on Imp…Kid Flash." Nightwing turned and extended his grapple hook, heading over to where he knew Starfire was. Kid Flash followed him as a blur of red and yellow.

(----)

Okay, there ya have it. Hope it was satisfactory. Again I'm sorry for the huge wait. I'll try to update faster in the future. Tell me what you think.

**BolenPUCR**: Well turns out you where right huh? Though, I guess it wasn't too much of a long shot that it would happen anyway. And if you were a fan of the comic you would probably have been able to guess anyway. Thanks for the Review.

**Beeny**: Once again thanks for a wonderful Review. I really appreciate it. That's one of the reasons I prefer the comic to the show. The whole depth to the characters is really lacking in the cartoon. I don't like how they don't have other identities. They're just Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, etc. They don't seem human enough.

**Star Wars Queen**: Hey, Star Wars rocks. Did you like Ep 3? Anyway, I'll have more Dick and Kory interaction and possibly fluff later on. Hope you enjoy it when it comes. Should be around chapter Five/Six.

**TDG3RD**: Thanks for the Review. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last. What do you think of the outcome of the chapter?

**ShivanStorm**: Thanks for the Review. What you think of this chapter?

**Piccolo999**


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

**The Despair Game**

Chapter Four

The Titans – minus Victor Stone, who had gone off to search for the still MIA Tara – arrived back at the tower quite forlornly. They had no idea where Tara was, or even if she was still alive, and on top of all that, Slade and his new apprentice were still out there, waiting. In all honesty, there was very little to be happy about.

Bart made his way over to the back of the sofa and leant up against it, arms crossed over his chest. His leg seemed fine.

Dick and Kory stopped by the kitchen counter and mirrored Bart by leaning against it. Kory shifted a little so her head was resting on Dick's shoulder.

Raven was hesitating near the doorway, not knowing what to do. Gar plopped himself down on one of the kitchen stools and put his head in his hands.

A long silence fell over them, broken up by the occasional shuffle of slight movement. Finally, Dick spoke up.

"There's nothing we can do right now." He announced. "All we can do is wait. Hopefully Vic will be back with Tara soon, and then, well, I guess we should have a team meeting. Until then…just…do what you want."

Dick didn't sound like his usual confident self. The truth was, he was a little scared. He almost had his face blown apart by Slade. It seemed, even as Nightwing, that he still was no match for the psychopathic criminal. He felt a tight squeeze on his hand, and turned his head to face Kory. She gave him a smile. It always amazed him how she could smile at times like this, but he didn't want to think about that now, he just smiled back slightly and stood erect.

"I'm going to get some rest." He said, giving Kory a significant look, and then left the room. She followed.

"Me too guys." Bart said with a yawn. "Night."

And he was gone in a flash. Pun intended.

Gar sighed.

Raven shifted slightly, looking over at the door, and then back over to Gar, whose head was still in his hands. She sighed herself, then turned to leave, but froze a moment later.

"Did you mean it?"

She shifted her feet, not turning back around.

"Mean what?" she asked, a little nervously. She had a good idea what he meant.

"You said…asked…if I would go on a date with you. Did you mean it?" Gar clarified.

"I…" Raven fell silent. She did mean it, but she had said it on impulse, not really thinking. Did she really want the complications of going on a date with Garfield would create? Did she really?

"I thought so." Gar mumbled. He still hadn't removed his head from his hands.

Raven turned to face him, her eyes wide, her mouth quivering slightly. She was glad he couldn't see her. She rubbed at her eyes, even though she wasn't crying, just to make sure, and then narrowed them at him.

"Don't go soft on me Garfield." She snapped. "Why are you acting like this? It's not like you!"

"You're not exactly acting like yourself either." Gar stated.

She froze again. That was true. Yeah, this situation was totally messed up. It was creating a void between the team - one that was slowly widening. Right now, it was just a tiny crack, but it would get bigger, if they didn't do something about it.

"I'm sorry." Raven apologised.

"Me too."

"What for?" Raven asked with slight curiosity.

"I don't know." Gar said, finally raising his head and looking at her, a small smile on his face. He chuckled. "Whatever you where mad at me about I 'spose."

Raven smiled. "Forget it." She waved it off. Silence. "I meant it, you know."

"Really?" Gar's smile was growing.

"Sure." Raven nodded. "I'm not saying I have feelings for you. I'm not sure, but I want to find out, okay?"

"Okay." Gar nodded.

"This whole thing is messed up Garfield." Raven told him. "We need to stick together. We need what happiness we can get."

"What do you mean?" Gar raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Don't you see?" Raven walked closer to him and sat down opposite him. "This is Slade's game. He's trying to tear us apart, emotionally and physically. He hurt Bart to send a message to us, and to go at the kid's confidence in himself. Luckily, Bart's tougher than Slade thought, and he came out of it with renewed strength. But that was all it was – luck."

"Yeah," Gar narrowed his eyes. "And telling Tara the truth. You're right. He is trying to take us apart bit by bit."

"Yeah." Raven sighed. "And it's working."

"It is?"

"Yeah," Raven looked up briefly, in the direction of Dick's room. "Maybe not the way he planned it, but it is working. He tried to take down Bart but failed. That was luck. But what happened to Tara remains to be seen, and Dick…I'm worried about him."

"Why?" Gar asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

Raven smiled at him and placed a hand over one of his. He looked at her and grinned, blushing a little. Raven removed her hand but Gar didn't stop smiling. He got the message. He had no reason to be jealous.

Raven went on. "As I was saying. Dick is feeling like he failed us. He feels like he failed himself."

"But I thought you said…" Gar began.

"There are other ways of reading people Garfield." Raven interrupted him.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Raven nodded. "Kory saw it too. Hopefully she can nip it in the bud before it grows too big."

"But why does he…"

"Because Slade almost killed him." Raven said, simply. Gar gawked.

"But he didn't…"

"He didn't need too." Raven replied.

"He didn't?"

"No." Raven shook her head. "Dick is easy to read for me. Plus, I over heard him thanking Bart for saving him." Raven smiled slightly.

"Oh." Gar smiled back. "So, what do we do?"

"At the moment, nothing, we can only wait and see." Raven stood. "Don't worry too much Garfield. That's what Slade wants. Besides, you have a date to plan. Night." She turned on her heel and walked away from him.

Gar couldn't help but grin at her back.

(----)

Victor Stone glanced down at the sensors on his right arm – which was held horizontally before his chest – and then made a sharp turn down a dark dank alley. A thick fog filled the air and Vic scrunched his face up at the rotting smell of stale garbage that perforated his nostrils. His sensors told him Tara was hiding somewhere down this alley, hiding away in the dark. He was too close to her now to pin point her location, so he looked around. The bleak darkness and haunting fog made it hard for him to see, and he didn't want to scare her off by calling out to her. He continued looking…

A few minutes later, Vic stopped what he was doing and listened. Barely audible over the drone of traffic in the distance, he could just about make out the hitching sobs of a scared teenaged girl. He looked over to where he thought the noise was coming from and approached the area.

"Tara," he said, softly. "It's me. Don't be afraid, and don't run, okay?"

Sob.

"Okay." Tara sniffed. He could just about make out her figure, curled up into a ball with her knees drawn up to her chest behind a dumpster, dirty and looking much like a homeless runaway at the moment, which she kinda was.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Another sob.

"No." Tara's voice was weak, and muffled with sadness, still barely audible. Vic crouched down in front of her and turned on a built in search light on his shoulder. Her hair was sticking to her forehead and her cheeks were stained with dirt and tears.

"It's okay girl." Vic said.

"It's not." Her voice hitched. "I'm a traitor. I'm…_her_."

"I know." Vic confessed. "Gar and Raven told us all the story."

(----)

Vic remembered staring in shock at the two Titans as they relayed the tale to the rest of the Titans. Gar and Raven stood together, bravely confessing the truth behind Terra. Vic didn't know what to think. He was angry. Angry with Tara for being Terra, angry at Gar and Raven for keeping it from him, angry at the world for it's cruel game called life.

_He didn't want to believe it, but it was the truth, after all, why would they lie? He had been coming to terms with Tara's return, but then this was sprung on him. How should he feel now? Sad? Angry? In truth, it seemed to him like he was feeling everything all at once. It was, pardon the cliché, like a roller coaster of emotion for him. _

"_No," Kory's voice cut through the stifling air up high on the rooftop, rising forgotten into the air and vanishing in space. "It is not true. Slade is…lying…he must be. It can not be true."_

"_It's true Kory." Gar replied sadly, his head lowered. Only Raven had the guts to look them in the face right now, for she wasn't completely responsible for keeping it from them. _

_Kory turned desperate eyes to Raven, the message clear, though unspoken: _Please tell me it isn't so.

Raven shook her head sadly and nodded: Its true.

"_So," Bart began. "That blond chick betrayed you all a few years ago, but you thought she had died, and that this new one was a…clone?"_

"_Yeah." Dick said. _

"_Oh-kay." Bart rolled his eyes. "Stuff like this normally happen around here?"_

"_Cut it out Bart." Dick admonished, and Bart shut up._

_It was a tense moment for the team. Gar, sensing the need, broke it._

"_Look guys," he paused, looking around to make sure he had everyone's attention. "I understand how you all must be feelings. I'm sorry I lied to you, but I knew this would happen. Listen to me now, please?"_

_Dick nodded. "Go on."_

"_Okay," Gar took a deep breath. "Tara is Terra, but she's different. Sure, she betrayed us, but if you remember, she did sacrifice her life to save us all and stop that underground volcano from destroying the city. She was never bad, just manipulated by Slade. Now, she's back, and she's not at all bad. She hated what the old Terra did to us, if you guys ever talked to her, you would know that, right?"_

_Vic nodded. "Yeah man, you're right."_

"_When she found out that she _was_ the old Terra, she lost it." Gar sighed. "I'm worried what she's doing right now. She might try to…you know…kill herself. I don't want that to happen. She's my friend. I've forgiven her for what she did to us, and I know she would never do that now. I hope you all can agree on that. She needs friends right now, not enemies. Don't turn your backs on her now, I beg you."_

_A long silence were everyone was taking in what Gar had said…_

_Vic had to admit, the little green guy had a point. Vic knew full well how much Tara was trying to make up for what she thought were her clones actions. She was different. She was his friend, and he wanted to help her, anyway he could._

_It seemed the others agreed as well._

"_Okay then," Dick said. "Someone has to go find her and bring her back. Assure her we don't blame her for what happened before, that it's water under the bridge."_

"_I'll go." Vic said quickly. "My sensors can find her easily."_

"_Agreed." Dick nodded. "The rest of us should head back to the tower. When Vic gets back with Tara we'll have a meeting and decide what to do next. Okay then, Titans, move out."_

_(----)_

Back in the alleyway, Tara was looking with wide, frightened eyes at Vic. Tears welled up and she shook her head, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry." She cried. Vic raised a hand and laid it gently on her shoulder. She looked back at him with those same terrified eyes.

"It's okay." Vic replied, softly. "We don't blame you, and we want you to know that we all forgive you. Even Raven."

Despite the pain of truth running through her, Tara smiled through her tears. "Liar."

"I'm serious." Vic said, smiling a little himself. "Except maybe the Raven part, but she won't give you a hard time. Gar talked to her."

"He did?" Tara asked.

"Yeah," Vic nodded. "I'm not going to say it'll be easy, but we want you back Tara, so what do ya say girl? Give the Titans one more shot? Show Slade who's boss?"

Tara's eyes brightened, her smile widened slightly. "Okay." She nodded.

Vic stood, extending his hand out to her. "Come on then."

She clasped it and he pulled her up. Vic turned to go, but before he could take a step, Tara spoke again. "Vic…"

"Yeah?" he turned his head to look at her.

"Thanks." She stood on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheek, before pulling away and smiling at him. "Thanks for everything. And for being my friend."

"No prob," he gave her a grin. "Now let's go, come on." And then grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him. "Time to kick Slades gun touting ass."

"You betcha." Tara nodded her head emphatically. "After what that psychos done to me, I'm going to kick it so bad he wont be able to sit down for the rest of his life."

"That's the spirit."

(----)

Titans Island was bathed in a sea breeze, whipping up the long hair of a certain rock-moving teenager as she moved up it's surface towards the entrance to Titans Tower. Her accomplice - Victor Stone - followed.

Tara Markov stopped short of the door, looking down at the rocky ground at her feet. Her hair fell around her, covering her face. Victor placed a hand on her shoulder as he reached her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Are you sure?" Tara asked. "I mean, are you sure they forgive me?"

"Damn sure." Vic grunted. "Look, I know you must be a bit scared, but it's us. The Titans. We wouldn't hurt you even if we didn't forgive you. And we do, I can assure you. Relax, okay? Nothing to be worried bout."

Tara studied the ground for a moment longer, then looked up and nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Together, the two Titans stepped into Titans Tower.

(----)

Tara had pictured many reactions the team would have to seeing her entering the Tower once again. Sometimes, they'd all greet her with smiles and hug her and treat her like they had when she first entered the Tower all those years ago. She didn't think this one likely. Then, sometimes, they'd give her fake smiles and go about pretending to be her friend, but deep down, they still hated her. This one scared her. She could deal (even if it scared her as well) with open animosity, but when it was hidden, she would always feel insecure and unsure of what exactly to do. She truly hoped this one wasn't _The One_.

But then, the reaction that frightened her the most was in fact the open animosity. Even though she knew if it did happen, she could deal with it, this was the one she wished more than anything would not happen. She thought - if she saw the hurt and betrayal and anger on all the Titans faces, moments before they attacked her for her actions – she would just die of heartbreak right then.

However, the one she had not been expecting was the mediocrity in which she was welcomed back into the Tower.

Dick gave her a friendly nod.

Raven ignored her completely.

Kory gave her a bright smile.

Bart, looking a bit befuddled, just swung his arms back and forth and smiled a little.

Gar grinned shakily at her, and then mouthed 'I'm sorry'.

She smiled back. Sure, she had been angry with him, but truthfully, she would rather have him as a friend than not at all. Whatever problems they had, they would face when the time came.

Vic once again put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her into the Titans briefing room.

So now she sat at the end of the large rectangular table, Vic sitting to her right. Across from her, Raven was looking down the length of the table at Dick. Gar was sitting next to Raven and Kory sat next to him. Bart was seated next to Vic. At the head of the table, Dick was standing with his hands resting on the surface, fingers spread.

The room itself was long and thin and Tara wasn't alone in feeling a little cramped. The back of her chair was almost touching the wall. She wondered how someone like Vic, who was quite large (not in the fat department, mind you), could fit in the gap and not have his breathing restricted by the table. Said table was made of mahogany wood around the edges and a long plane of steel in the center. The chairs were also made of steel and were in fact quite comfy, surprisingly.

Dick cleared his throat.

"Right then," Dick said, looking around at them all. "First, I'd address Tara, if you don't mind."

Tara shook her head and nodded.

"Well," he trailed off. After a short pause, he continued. "I just want to say, that even though you betrayed us all those years ago, we understand why that happened and will do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't happen again. Gar told us that you're a completely different person since you returned, and he's right. That's why we're giving you this chance. Last time, you were confused and felt you could not trust us, for reasons we wont go into. This time, I hope you know that you can come to any one of us, " he looked pointedly at Raven. "And we'll be here for you. Okay?"

Tara nodded, wiping a stray tear that trickled down her cheek away with the back of her hand. She nodded again just to confirm her agreement.

"Right then," Dick sighed. "Now onto the real reason behind this meeting: Slade. You all know he's back, and that he's more dangerous than ever. We don't know his -"

"Ah," Bart cut in, raising his hand somewhat timidly.

"What is it Bart?" Dick asked, choosing to ignore the interruption and just see what the speedster wanted.

"Well," Bart blushed a little. "Who exactly is Slade?"

"Who's Slade?" Dick faltered. "Ah, right, you don't know?"

"Nope." Bart replied. "Other than he's a psychopathic guy in a mask, not a thing."

Dick ran a hand through his hair and sighed. What followed was a long (and not surprising) rundown of the history of Slade and the Titans. How Slade had first appeared on the scene months after the Titans first joint crime fighting effort. How Slade was obsessed with getting an apprentice, and how he first went after Robin. Then the whole painful ordeal with Terra was told, in which Tara tried to hide even more tears, and was unsuccessful. In the end, Bart was scratching his head and frowning as Dick finished the tale with Slade's rebirth as Trigon's right hand man and his imprisonment.

"Wow." Bart let out a breath. "I'm not sure I can remember all that. Will someone write it down?"

"Sure, I'll go publish a book." Raven retorted sarcastically (as if you needed me to tell you that). "We don't have time for this."

"Raven's right." Dick agreed. "If you have any questions just ask as they come. Okay? Good. As I was saying…we don't know exactly what Slade's goal is, but it's obvious he's trying to tear us apart. What he told Terra is proof of that. He seems to want to cause us grief, and he's very good at doing that, trust me. Any objections?"

Everyone shook his or her head. That much was clear to them all.

"Right then," Dick looked around at them all. "Anyone want to add anything?"

"Well," Raven, in a very Dick like manner, looked around at the gathering of Titans. "What Dick said is true. What we need to do is make sure we stay together and not let Slade tear us apart. So, if anyone has anything they want to say, they should say so."

Raven looked pointedly at Dick.

Dick looked back at her, but then turned his head to each Titan, one by one, until he had surveyed them all. He returned his gaze to Raven.

"No then?" Dick said. "Okay. Right now, there isn't much we can do but wait to see what Slade's next move is. I'll look into and check my sources, see if I can find anything, but Slade is as tricky as ever, so I doubt I'll find anything of much use. The rest of you are free to do as you please, just be alert and ready, wherever you are. Slade could be waiting around any corner. Dismissed."

Dick got up immediately, quickly walking out of the room and heading to his own. Tara watched as Raven got up, rather angrily, and stalked after him with a murderous look hidden beneath the darkness of her hood.

The rest of the Titans looked on, mostly confused. Gar sighed and walked out after them.

"Friend, what just happened?" Kory had turned to Vic.

"I'm not really sure Kor'." Vic replied, scratching his head.

(----)

Raven stormed after Dick, who was walking a little too quickly down the corridor. She clenched her fists together and sped up.

"Dick!" she called, but he was seemingly ignoring her. She growled low in her throat and lashed out with her powers, wrapping lengths of dark black energy around Dick's upper chest and arms.

"Raven," Dick said, looking back over his shoulder. "Let me go."

"Not until we're finished talking." Raven retorted, angrily.

"We are finished talking Raven." Dick replied, stressing the 'are'.

"Not yet we aren't," Raven came up next to Dick and stood in front of him. He was considerably taller, but that didn't really help against Raven dark menacing look from beneath her hood. "I know you're having trouble dealing with Slade's return. You have no need to try and hide it from us."

"I'm not having any trouble Raven," Dick growled. "Let me go. That's an order."

"You can't boss me around Dick!" Raven yelled. "You're not the only one in charge here. I have just as much right to lead this team as you do. And if you carry on this way I'll strip you of the leadership the rest of the Titans – me included – gave you and give it to someone else who can think straight. Got that, _Dick_?"

"You wouldn't…"

"I would!" Raven replied sternly. "We both founded the Titans Dick - you and me. Right now, you're acting stupid. You need to talk to the team or something bad will happen. Like it always does when you go off on your own and do a Batman."

"Don't compare me to him Raven!" Dick yelled. "I'm nothing like him!"

"You could have fooled me!"

By now Raven and Dick were face to face, almost in kissing distance. Dick had an angry scowl on his face and Raven's eyes glowed a crimson red. It was at times like this when it became clear Raven was the daughter of the Demon. No removal of a Trigon Seed could change that.

"Friends?" A soft voice spoke up. "Please stop the yelling."

Dick froze and looked back at Kory. She was standing at the far end of the corridor with Gar, Tara, Bart and Vic at her side. Her eyes glistened with tears.

"Please stop." She repeated.

Dick looked back at Raven. Raven glared back at him, but then slowly released him. Dick turned instantly and walked over to Kory, wrapping his arms around her and stroking the back of her head.

"It's okay Kory," he whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry. Everything is okay. We're just…talking."

"Pretty loud talking dude." Vic put in, smiling a little. He was obviously trying to lighten the mood.

Kory looked up at Dick as he pulled away. "I'm not a fool Dick," she said. "I know you're arguing. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Dick said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Forget it, okay?"

Raven shook her head at him and turned around, stalking away. She'd had enough tonight. All she wanted to do was be alone and think.

(----)

Gar watched as Raven walked away. He knew the argument must have had something to do with Raven's fear of Dick feeling weak and ashamed of himself. She obviously wanted him to mention it during the meeting, and when he didn't, she followed him to get him to confess. Again, obviously, it didn't work. And now she was angry. _Great_, Gar mentally sighed.

Gar looked over at Dick, who was leading Kory away down the corridor and trying to convince her that everything was fine. What was he playing at? Things clearly where not fine. _Even I can see that_, he thought.

"Yo Gar," Vic's voice cut into his thoughts and the green changeling turned to face his half robot, half human best friend. "You coming? Bart and me are gonna show Tara who really kicks ass at Mad Dash Racing 5000. You in?"

"Uh," Gar paused. "Nah dude. I'm going to find Raven. See if she's okay."

"'Kay bro," Vic clapped him on the back. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Gar waved the rest of the Titans off before making his way over to Raven's room.

It didn't take him long to reach the aforementioned room. He knocked twice on the door (yup, still with the scary echo) and waited. And waited. He knocked again.

"Go away Garfield." Raven's voice shouted through the door.

"Come on Raven," Gar shouted back. "Please let me in."

"No!"

"Look, I know you're angry." Gar said, leaning his forehead onto the door. "I just want to help. Make you feel better."

"I want to be alone."

"You're always alone Raven," Gar replied. He tapped his fingers on the door in a rhythmic pattern and then sighed. "Please Raven."

No reply.

He sighed again. Then he had an idea.

"Hey Rave," he called. "How about that date? Right now. Come on."

_Please work_, he prayed.

"That's tomorrow idiot." Raven shouted back. He smiled a little.

"I know," he said. "But I want to go now. Come on. I know the perfect place to take you. It'll really make you feel better. I promise."

Silence. He drew back a little from the door and tapped his foot on he floor. He was just about to open his mouth again when the door opened with its usual _swish_. Raven stood before him, wearing her cloak tightly around her and her hood up.

"Fine then." She said. "Let's go."

(----)

Well, what do you think? I hope Tara's return was believable enough. I think - even though she was feeling really bad about everything - having someone like Vic (who was obviously really uncomfortable with having her around before) come up to her and show her that the Titans weren't going to blame her, etc, and wanted her to still be a Titan…well I think that would be enough to at least give her a boost. I'm not saying she's completely okay, because she's not. She still has a long way to go. I just hope that came across well enough.

**Beeny**: Thanks so very much for that wonderful review. I'm really glad you like it so far. I really can't tell you how much it means to me. It's a great feeling, getting a review like that. Really makes me want to continue writing. Anyway…personally, Slade is one of my fav characters, so I'm glad you liked that line. I did too. Beast boy is also one of my favs, and it annoys me greatly when people make him out to be a complete moron. He's a lot more complex than he looks. As for Conner and Cassie, I don't have any plans for this fic…but then again, maybe in one of my later Teen Titans fics…Finally, I'll try to keep my ego in check, but with comments like that, it's gonna be really hard huh? Lol. Hope you enjoyed this chap.

**TDG3RD**: Yeah, I loved Bart's transformation into Kid Flash in the newest series of Teen Titans comic book - Hence my incorporating it into my FanFic. Anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter.

**Piccolo999**


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

**The Despair Game**

Chapter Five

When Garfield Logan was only a mere Five years old he was attacked and bitten by a monkey whilst his parents where conducting research on genetic codes in Africa. That particular Monkey carried a rare African disease called Sakutia. A disease that until then was thought only animals could catch. Gar came down with it quickly.

His biologist parents – Mark and Marie Logan – worked hard to find a cure, and eventually did, thought it was only experimental, and very risky. However, luck was on their side, and Gar pulled through. When the procedure was over Gar was left with green skin and the power to shape shift into other animals (something he only discovered a few years later).

Mark and Marie Logan had to share their lab with a Doctor Samuel Register, and it is here where we catch up with him on the outskirts of Jump City. His lab is very rundown and littered with broken test tubes and caged animals.

Doctor Register is a tall man with dark brown hair and high, prominent cheekbones. He wears a long white lab coat that is very dirty, almost to the point of being no longer white. He's bustling about and mumbling to himself.

"…On such short notice…expect me too…stupid…idiotic…demands…" he grumbled as he bent down low and rustled in one of the many cupboards around the lab. A crash outside his lab startled him into an upright position and he looked around wearily.

"Hello?" he called.

"Samuel." A cold chilling voice answered - The voice of Slade Wilson.

"It's Doctor Register." The Doctor replied, turning to watch Slade as he appeared out of the shadows.

"Oh my," Slade cooed. "I'm so very sorry _Doctor Register_. Do you have what I asked for?"

"You didn't ask for…"

"I would advise against finishing that sentence Samuel." Slade hissed. "I would also advise you to answer my question before my finger slips." Slade raised a small handgun to emphasise the point.

"Yes," Doctor Register fumbled. "Yes, of course. I have been working on it ever since your first visit and I think I'm finally…"

"Yes or No Samuel?" Slade cut across, his voice carrying a hint of impatience.

"Yes." Doctor Register said simply.

"Very good." Slade replied. "Well? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and give it to me!"

"Right," Doctor Register turned and rushed along the desktop, running his hand over many corked test tubes (avoiding the broken ones) and finally stopping on one, which contained a green liquid. He picked it up and held it before his eyes. Nodding to himself, he turned to face Slade. Slade held out his other hand (the one not holding the gun) and Doctor Register hurried to put it in his hand.

Slade examined the object. "And you are sure that this will work?"

"As sure as I can be without a test subject." Doctor Register replied.

"Very well," Slade pocketed the vial. "But I warn you, if this does not work, I will find you, and I will kill you. Understood Samuel?"

"Understood." Doctor Register said, with an audible gulp. Slade smirked.

"I advise you pray," And with that, Slade turned and disappeared into the shadows.

After a few moments, Doctor Register slumped against his desktop and ran a hand through his hair whilst letting out a drawn out sigh. Fortunately for him, he would never see Slade Wilson again.

(----)

After finally relenting and leaving the confines of her room to go on a date with Gar, Raven found herself flying through the air, following after the green peregrine falcon that was Gar Logan.

The wind was sharp and chilly up high in the sky, not high enough to touch the clouds, but getting there. Raven could see the many blinking lights of civilization below her that was Jump City and, if she looked over her shoulder, an expanse of dark almost black looking water stretching into the horizon. It was almost pitch black, and would have been, were it not for the silvery moonlight that bathed the world and everything on it in its silvery glow.

Raven looked ahead once again. Gar was getting ahead of her, and she was sure that if she lagged behind anymore, she would lose him, so she sped up, keeping her arms tucked in. Like a torpedo, she shot through the air and came up at his side.

"Garfield!" she yelled over the harsh winds. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Gar replied. For anyone else, it would surely have been strange and unnerving to see a bird talking, but for Raven, she had grown used to it. "Just keep up. Almost there."

"We better be," Raven warned, shivering.

"You cold?" Gar asked.

"Obviously." Raven retorted sarcastically. She sighed. Gar loved flying, so obviously he wasn't going as fast as he could have. She just knew it. "Just speed up."

Raven increased her own speed and wasn't surprised to see Gar come up along side her and take over, again leading the way. Yeah, just knew it.

(----)

A few minutes later, Gar swooped down from the high winds and headed towards an outcropping of rock almost halfway up one of the mountains behind Jump City. It was a curving protrusion that formed two bumps in the mountainside, almost like half eights, cut down the middle. The floor looked like it was covered sporadically with bits of grass, but mostly it was the dusty rock that could be seen covering most of the rest of the mountain region. Raven followed him.

Gar landed first, transforming just before impact so that he landed crouched in human form. Raven hovered down beside him and looked around. She stared out at the horizon, unable to hide the amazement that came across her features. Gar straightened up beside her and looked out at the horizon as well.

"Great," he said. "Isn't it?"

"Yeah," Raven breathed, speechless.

The view was stunning. Jump City stretched out before them, and where it had been beautiful from up above, from here it was absolutely breathtaking. The many coloured lights of the city glittered in a fantastic display of luminance. It was almost like a photo of a firework going of high in the sky, captured perfectly. Except this firework covered the entire floor beneath them in an ever-changing pattern of multicoloured lights. Even more amazing, just behind the city, the long expanse of dark ocean, sparkling and glowing from the moonlight far off into the distance.

"Look up." Gar directed.

Raven did. She gazed up at the moon, partially covered by thin wispy clouds and glowing like the night light of the world. It took all of her control not to gape at it, mouth hanging slack.

"It's so beautiful," she said.

"Like you," Gar said. Raven turned to look at him. "I love coming here," he continued. "It's the most beautiful spot around Jump City. And it reminds me of you. Especially when the moon is out like this."

"Me?" Raven asked. "Why?"

"When people look at you," Gar began. "They see a pale girl shrouded in darkness, right? Well, I don't. I see a girl shinning with light from beneath the darkness, like the moon at the night. Like now." He pointed out at the view. "A beautiful girl that glows like moonlight."

Raven gave a half smile and half smirk. "Wow Garfield," she said. "That was sure cheesy." She smiled fully now. "But very sweet. Thanks."

"Your welcome." Gar grinned, showing his pearly white teeth.

Gar motioned behind them and Raven turned to watch him. He moved over to the wall and moved aside a rather large rock, pulling out from behind it a folded woollen blanket. He fluttered it out a bit and then laid it on the ground before sitting down. He patted the spot just beside him and Raven sat as well, curling her knees up to her chest and staring out at the horizon. Gar continued to watch her like she was the most fascinating thing in the world, smiling.

Raven wasn't sure how much time passed. She just continued to watch the horizon, feeling content. After a while though, she gave a great shiver, and then realised she was still cold.

"Still cold?" Gar asked sounding a little concerned. "Sorry. Here."

He handed her another blanket, presumably pulled out from behind the same rock as the one she was currently sitting on. She wrapped it around herself and turned to raise an eyebrow at Gar. He instantly knew what she was asking without her even speaking.

"Yeah," Gar said. "Sometimes I like to sleep up here. It's like my sacred place."

"I'm glad you decided to show it too me," Raven said, smiling at him. "Thanks."

"It's 'kay," Gar said. "Now the two most sacred things in my world can be together."

"Your such a cheese ball." Raven retorted, though still smiling.

"Heh," Gar grinned, his green cheeks blushing a little. "Can't help it."

"It's okay," Raven said, looking out over the horizon again. "It's nice."

Silence fell over the two Titans - one watching the beautiful sight before her and the other watching an equally beautiful sight before him. Finally, Raven broke the silence.

"How long have you been coming here?" Raven asked.

"Ever since I joined the Titans really," Gar answered. "I was just out flying one night – I do that a lot, it's nice to get away from everything sometimes – and I just found this place. It was the second most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

"I guess I don't need to ask what the first is," Raven said, giving him a knowing look. Gar blushed and scratched the back of his head, grinning.

"Well," Gar went on. "I love flying. I used to do it all the time. To clear my head and just be free, you know. I started doing it after my parents died…"

Raven turned to look at Gar fully. He was staring down at the floor, his arms resting on the respective knee. She waited for him to go on.

"So," Gar eventually said. "Yeah, after my parents…died…I ended up with a friend of my fathers - King Tawaba - in Africa. But that didn't last, and I ended up back in America. The court appointed my parents attorney as my guardian, but he didn't really care about me. He just wanted my parents money. That's when I started flying at night. I felt free when I was flying, like he couldn't stop me from doing anything. I guess I just haven't stopped flying ever since. Although, since I joined the Titans I have been coming here more often."

"But," Raven paused, studying Gar. "This attorney, you're not still with him, right? Your legal guardians are two former Doom Patrol members right?"

"Yeah," Gar smiled. "They rescued me from Galtry. But I still like flying. I always will."

"I understand that," Raven said. "It's great to have a way to relieve yourself of everything. I've never been happier with the Titans."

"And me right?" Gar grinned.

"Yes Garfield," Raven patted his head. "You are a Titan. You too."

Gar let out a small chuckle. "Yeah," he said. "I remember when you guys didn't think I'd make a good Titan. I was so angry. I knew that if you gave me a chance I'd do okay, but…"

"We didn't," Raven finished. "I remember. I really didn't like the thought of you as a Titan."

"Because of my emotions?" Gar asked.

"That was part of it." Raven admitted.

"What else?" Gar asked curiously.

"I just…didn't think you'd fit in." Raven replied, softly. "I thought that you would never like me. I thought that it'd cause a rift between the team. Something that just wouldn't do, but I guess I was wrong about that."

"It's okay to be wrong," Gar said truthfully. "Don't feel bad about it. Everything worked out fine. Life's bad enough, but if you focus on the bad stuff, it can be really unbearable."

"That's why your always so happy go lucky I guess?"

"Yup." Gar grinned. "Anyway, I'm just glad you eventually saw the light. I'm just glad I'm a Titan, and that I can help people." A gust of wind swept past them, making Gar let out a harsh shiver rather like the one Raven had earlier.

"Garfield…" Raven said. He looked over at her and she opened the blanket around herself, wordlessly inviting him in. Gar grinned and shuffled sideways as she wrapped the blanket around him as well. She slowly, cautiously, lowered her head onto his shoulder and closed her eyes. Gar couldn't stop smiling.

"Thanks Rave."

(----)

The only light in the room reflected off Dick as he stared moodily at his computer screen and typed away, trying in vain to find even a tiny clue as to Slade and the Ravagers whereabouts. He cursed angrily as his latest lead led him to another dead end and slammed his hand palm first into the monitor, sending it rocking back and forth from the strength of the blow. He buried his head in his hands, ruffling his hair up.

"Dammit," he snarled, his voice muffled by his hands.

_Swish._

Light flooded the room momentarily but quickly vanished with another _swish_. Dick looked up and over his shoulder. Emerald eyes looked back at him with worry clouding their usual brightness.

"Kory," Dick said.

(----)

"Dick," Kory replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said stiffly. "I'm just…working. I need to find…Slade."

"You need to rest," Kory said, calmly walking over to him and resting her hand on his shoulder. "Slade can wait." He shook her off and stood, storming away from her. She watched him with growing worry.

"No!" he roared, turning to face her. What little light was left in the room – coming through the blinds and from the monitor – lit up their faces like an old black and white movie. "I'm not going to wait around anymore. Slade won't stop this time. You heard him. He said this is just the beginning. We have no idea what he's planning and I'm not going to sit around and keep it that way. I'll stop him. I've grown. I'm stronger and faster than I've ever been. He wont beat me Kory! …Not again"

"Dick…" Kory sniffed, tears evident in her eyes now. Dick either didn't care or didn't notice as he turned away and looked out through the blinds. "Dick…He has never beaten you…Slade…"

"Be quiet Kory," Dick said, barely above a whisper, but she heard him. Her heart clenched in pain but she ignored it, desperate to help him somehow - even if he didn't want her too. "He has beaten me every time and you know it. He made me go against everything I had come to believe. He made me hurt you all. He twisted Terra against us. I couldn't save her. I couldn't stop him. When he came back, I couldn't do anything then either. I needed the Justice League to bring him and Trigon down. Some leader I am. I've failed over and over again."

"Dick," Kory reached out but stopped, seeming to think better of it. Dick went on as if she hadn't even talked.

"I won't fail again." He said evenly. "This time I will win. No matter what."

A tense silence followed.

"Dick?" Kory eventually said. He turned to face her, his face hardened and his eyes giving away no emotion. Kory bit back a gasp. She had never seen him look so…blank. So like his mentor. She forced herself to go on anyway. "You mustn't forget that which makes you different from Slade."

"I haven't Kory." Dick said softly. He hardened his voice for what was to come though. "I want to be alone. Please leave."

"Very well," Kory held back a sob as she turned and walked towards the door. The door opened with its usual _swish _but Kory stopped before leaving fully. "I love you Dick."

No reply. She looked over he shoulder and saw him busy typing away on his computer once again. She wiped the tears from her eyes and left. Dick didn't even hear the sobs as the door swished closed once again.

(----)

The chilly wind brushed past the two teens that sat together up high on the mountains behind Jump City. They hardly felt it, being wrapped up nice and snug inside a thick warm blanket. Raven's head was still resting on Gar's shoulder, but her eyes where open, taking in the beautiful sight on the horizon. Gar had his arm slung over Raven's shoulder and was holding her as close as he dared. He was smiling with content.

"Are you…?" Gar began, but stopped. Raven moved her head so she could look at him. "I mean…are you having fun? Is this okay?"

"It's perfect." Raven said with a small smile.

"Great." Gar grinned.

Raven went back to resting her head on Gar's shoulder as the green metahuman stared back out at the horizon. The wind swept his hair back from his face and he let that same content smile break free once again. Gar had never felt happier.

Just being with Raven like this was pure bliss to him. Sure, they weren't exactly doing anything, but that didn't stop it from being perfect, just as Raven had said. He felt totally comfortable around her.

With Tara it sometimes got really uncomfortable and he felt the need to say something or do something. He was always nervous around Tara. But this…this was different.

He felt completely relaxed. He knew he didn't have to say anything. He knew he didn't have to do anything. Just being with her was enough. They felt so comfortable with each other that talk wasn't necessary and silence was golden. Raven shifted slightly and her hair tickled his face slightly, making him grin.

Gar worried his face might break apart if he kept smiling like this. He toyed with the idea of making a joke about it but decided against it. It would ruin the moment. Silence was what they where doing at the moment. He wouldn't break it and neither would Raven.

Of course he never planned on being interrupted.

"My, my, my," the voice of Slade Wilson sang. Gar stiffened and felt Raven do the same just beside him. They both jumped apart and spun around, looking up high to find Slade and the Ravager leering down at them from a little further up the cliff.

"How sweet do you two little Titans look?" Slade cooed in a mocking voice. "How adorable - the cute little couple. I never would have thought it. Tell me Raven, how do you put up with him?"

"Shut your mouth Slade!" Gar roared, pointing an angry finger at the mercenary. "I'm sick of you messing up my life. First you do all that to Terra and then you come back and try to ruin it for her once again when she was finally being accepted. Now you think you can come here and interrupt our da…"

"What?" Slade laughed. "Date? How pathetic. I really don't know how you can stand him. But then again, the same could be said about you, huh Raven?" Slade put on a mock Raven voice. "'I'm so pathetic I can't even feel anything. My Father is a demon.'" He laughed. "Oh how very, very, sad."

Gar could feel his anger building up inside him, but before he could even think of reacting Raven lashed out beside him. Her telekinetic powers smashed into the rocks below Slade's feet and they exploded in a cloud of broken rubble and dust. Slade appeared through the smoke, holding a double length Bo staff tightly in his hands. He landed in a crouch before them and Raven raised her hands to continue her assault. However, she had forgotten all about the Ravager.

A swift dart followed Slade through the cloud and pierced her neck. She gasped and her body went limp, falling forward into a snap strike of Slade's Bo staff. She fell tumbling to the floor and would have fallen over the edge had the Ravager not appeared and stopped her with a foot. The Ravager placed her katana to Raven's throat. Raven looked at Gar through half lidded eyes.

Gar clenched his fists and turned to face Slade again.

"I wouldn't try to use your powers anymore dear Raven," Slade said. "If you do, my apprentice here will not hesitate to cut your throat. As for you," Slade went on, turning to face Gar. "This is your chance to get back at me for everything I have done to you. What will you do Beast Boy?"

"I'll tear you apart!" Gar snarled. He dropped into a crouch.

"Gar," Raven groaned. The tranquilliser made it hard for her to talk but she persisted anyway. "Please…don't…you can't…win…run."

Gar looked sideways at her. His eyes clouded over in indecision for a moment before he shook himself and turned back to Slade. He had to fight. He had to protect her. He wouldn't fail. Slade was going down…hopefully.

"Then come at me Beast Boy," Slade taunted, twirling his Bo staff around. "It's just one on one. Will you be able to save this girlfriend?"

"Screw you!" Gar yelled, charging at Slade. Slade jumped up high over Gar's head and jammed the Bo staff backwards, sending Gar face first into the hard rock wall. Gar's head rebounded with a clunk and he snapped a hand up to rub at his head, using the other to steady himself. He turned back around to face Slade, who smirked at him. Gar snarled and transformed into a Hawk.

He flew up high and came around at Slade, who easily batted him away. Gar came around again and transformed back to his human form just before he reached Slade. Turning into anything heavy was way too dangerous this high up. Raven was still in trouble and he couldn't risk her getting hurt.

The momentum of his flight was enough to give him the upper hand though and he slammed Slade down to the floor. Gar stared down at Slade and would have sworn the sociopath was grinning under that damn mask of his. He probably was, as a few moments later Gar was sent flying forward from where he crouched above Slade.

Gar found himself saying hello to the rock wall once again and this time was sure he heard something crack. He groaned in pain and rolled over, bringing a hand up to his bloody and oddly bent nose. Yup, he broke his nose.

Slade stood up and raised a foot before slamming it hard into Gar's head. Gar felt his entire body shake and his vision blurred. Slade boot came down once again right in the center of his chest and he gasped for breath as it all left his lungs. Slade knelt down in front of him. He pulled a long object that looked somewhat like a syringe through Gar's hazy vision.

"Say goodbye to the Beast Boy you knew Raven," Slade hissed, before shoving the needle roughly into the boys arm. Gar hissed in pain. Slade pressed the plunger and Gar's eyes drooped shut before his head lolled forward and he lost consciousness.

(----)

Raven tried to cry out but she couldn't. Her entire body was numb and nothing was working. She couldn't even speak anymore. She watched as Slade stood and kicked Garfield roughly in the head, so he toppled over with his back to her. He beckoned the Ravager to him and then smirked down at her for a moment before he disappeared out of her vision. She was all alone now.

The chilling wind whispered past again but she couldn't even feel it anymore. She just stared ahead, tears leaking from her eyes as she tried to claw her way over to Garfield. He wasn't moving. Then it began. She watched as his forest green hair lightened and eventually turned blond. Tears came faster now.

What was happening? What had Slade done!

She didn't know how long it took for the paralysis to wear off even slightly and she was able to move a little. She shuffled her way over to Garfield and managed to turn him over the rest of the way. She gasped.

Staring back up at her with half lidded and unfocused eyes was a Garfield Logan she had never seen before. He was hardly recognisable. In fact, if she were to see him on the streets like this she probably wouldn't have recognised him at all. Looking back at her was a boy with blue eyes, blond hair and pink skin.

She sobbed.

"Garfield…"

(----)

Another chapter done, hope you all enjoyed. The version of Gar's Origin is true, as far as my knowledge goes. I hope the date wasn't too cheesy; I'm trying to make it seem as realistic as it can with Superheroes being involved and all. Leave a Review and tell me what ya think. Oh and thanks for reading! You guys rock.

**Piccolo999**


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

I actually have finished this story now and I have the rest of the chapters, all that's left is to upload them, which I hope to do later this week. After that I'll be starting on a new story, following on from this one.

Oh, one more thing, I just wanted to say thanks for the encouragement Beeny, and you don't have to worry about me being affected in any way by that reviewer. In fact I found it kind of funny at first, though it did get a little repetitive and boring. Anyway, like I said, thanks for the encouragement, and I hope you like this new chapter. I'm so sorry for the long delay. Enjoy.

**The Despair Game**

Chapter Six

Sitting in the spacious common room of Titans Tower and locked in a game of 'Total Speed Three' with Bart, Victor Stone didn't even spare a thought for the location of two of his teammates. Tara watched their virtual cars clash together briefly from her position just behind the long curved sofa. Vic didn't pay her any mind either. He was far too busy trying to whoop Bart at one of his favourite racing games (one he had always been the best at) and regain the name of Supreme Gaming Champion of the Titans - SGCT for short.

"Hey," he yelled, watching Bart's car zoom ahead of him for the hundredth time. "Are ya sure ya can't transfer ya powers into this game?"

"Trying to make up excuses Vicky?" Bart laughed. "How very Gar of you."

"Don't compare me to the little grass stain ya stupid Big foot!" Vic snapped. Tara smiled faintly.

Moonlight poured in through the darkness outside, adding to the luminous glow the video game cast upon them. A harsh downpour of rain banged against the window. Despite the harshness of the weather, all it did was add to the comforting warmth that filled the large room and made it seem a lot smaller. To the three Titans, everything felt wonderful. Thoughts of Slade and whatever he had planned didn't even cross their minds. Unfortunately, this led to one harsh fact:

Not one of the three Titans expected their peaceful world to come crashing down around them in a matter of moments.

Vic grinned, edging forward on his chair to get a better look at the screen and his virtual car as he caught up with Bart's, both of them nearing the finish line. He edged closer, neck and neck with the speedsters car. His smile widened and then…

A dark ominous cloud opened up before him, obscuring his vision and making him jump back in shock. Bart and Tara both copied him in sync, which was almost comical. When the smoke cleared Tara gasped out in shock.

Raven was huddled on the floor, her knees bent under her, her hood sagging down her back. Her face was pale and beads of rain dripped down her face and hung from stray strands of hair, the rest of it plastered to her head. Her lips where pale and her eyes where locked on an object in her arms. On further inspection, the object turned out to be a boy, equally as pale and drenched.

"Raven!" Vic burst out, leaping down to her side with speed that seemed almost impossible with his size. "Raven?" he repeated, more subdued this time. Bart and Tara inched forward. Raven turned her head slightly, her eyes locking on Victors. He almost pulled back in shock.

_What had happened?_ His frantic mind thought. What was going on? Why was she drenched from head to foot? Why did she look so…heartbroken? Why did she look like her best friend had died?

"Raven?" he repeated. Her eyes shook a little; looking back down at the boy in her arms, then back up at him. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, trying to ease her. She tried again.

"Garfield…" Was the only thing she could say.

"Gar?" Vic looked back at Bart and Tara, puzzled. They looked equally as puzzled.

He saw Tara look away from Raven and down at the boy in her arms. She gasped. He turned quickly but the boy had not yet moved. He looked back at Tara. She was staring in shock at the boy, her hand covering her mouth. Bart looked confused, looking between the two. Tears sprung to Tara's eyes.

"Tara?" Vic asked.

Tara looked at him and then back at the boy. She pointed at him. "Gar…its Gar." She said.

Vic blinked. _Gar?_ His befuddled mind thought._ What?_

"The boy…" Tara rasped. "It's Garfield."

Vic spun around and stared at the boy who was supposedly his best friend Gar Logan. He studied him excessively, trying to see what Tara had seen. It was hard to tell, but…

"No," Vic said. "It can't be. Raven." He turned to look at said girl, who was once again staring down at Gar, shivering from the cold. She looked up at him and nodded.

"No."

"Wait," Bart said impatiently. "Back up a minute. What's going on?"

(----)

Almost half an hour had passed since Raven appeared before Vic, Bart and Tara in the common room of Titans Tower. As soon as the shock had died down Vic had ordered Bart to go find Dick and Kory quickly. The boy had disappeared in a flash.

Tara had been shaking, visibly shocked. Every now and then she had looked back at Gar, trying to find something that would prove it was all a joke, but every time she had failed.

Vic had tried to pry Raven from Gar but she would have none of it. She even went as far to zap him with her powers, though she didn't seem to realise this. Her eyes where locked on Gar's former green ones.

Bart arrived back, momentarily followed by Dick and Kory. Dick had quickly took charge and had them move Gar and Raven to the emergency medical room. Raven still refused to let go of Gar so Dick had Vic administer a light sedative to the girl, knocking her into a peaceful slumber. They had then laid the two unconscious Titans down on two of the beds, keeping them side-by-side.

Currently, Vic and Dick where going through some quick tests on Gar. Raven would be fine; she was just in shock and would need some rest. Gar on the other hand…

He appeared to fine, apart from the fact he was no longer green. Vic was able to find a small trace of some foreign drug in his system but it didn't seem to be harmful to him.

Kory, Bart and Tara sat on the sidelines, watching with worried eyes. Finally, Tara couldn't take it any longer and stepped forward, her eyes moistening.

"Well?" she roared. "Is he going to be okay? What's going on? Tell us!"

Dick sighed and dropped his head, staring down at Gar's chest. Vic turned away from Gar and faced the two girls and one boy.

"He appears to be fine," Vic began. He was about to speak again when Tara cut him off.

"Fine!" she shouted. "Fine? Does he look fine to you! He's…he's…_normal_." She whispered the last word, tears falling down her cheeks, her head sagging.

Vic sighed. "Let me finish Tara," Vic said, calmly. His voice carried across how upset he was, in his own Vic like way, and Tara muttered a quick 'Sorry'. Vic went on. "Other than the obvious, he's fine. There's some small trace of a drug I cannot identify in his system, but it doesn't appear to be harming him in anyway. It's almost completely gone already."

"So?" Bart pressed. "What's all this mean?"

"It means he's going to be okay." Vic said. "But he won't be able to transform anymore. He won't have any of his heightened senses. He's just going to be…"

"Normal." Tara finished.

"Yeah," Vic nodded. "Normal."

"And what of friend Raven?" Kory broke her silence.

"Raven is fine," Vic muttered. "She's just exhausted."

A long silence fell on the team of teenaged heroes. A harsh movement broke it and everyone turned to watch as Dick's back disappeared out of the room. The door swished shut behind him. Kory quickly went after him.

"So…" Bart murmured. "What now?"

"Go get some rest," Vic sighed. "We're going to have a lot to do tomorrow. We should all rest."

"But," Tara said, getting everyone's attention. "But shouldn't someone stay just in case he wakes up?"

"I'll do it." Vic said. "You two rest. I'll call you if anything happens."

"'Kay," Bart nodded and left the room. Tara hesitated.

"I promise Tara," Vic nodded towards the door. "Get some rest."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

(----)

Dick couldn't stand it. He had to do something. Standing around and doing nothing whilst Slade picked each and every Titan off one by one was just not going to happen. He had no other choice. He'd find Slade and stop him himself.

No more hesitating. This was his battle. It always had been. He wouldn't stop this time. He wouldn't let Slade get away. He wouldn't assume Slade was dead until he had absolute and undeniable proof. And he certainly wouldn't let the mad man live. He was going to kill him and end it all.

"No more games," Dick growled, grabbing his escrima sticks and attaching them onto his back. He was in his room, staring out of his window, the blinds pulled away and the window open. The wind ruffled his hair about and created a cool chill over his face. He barely felt it.

He placed a foot on the windowsill and propelled himself through the air, landing in a crouch outside of Titans Tower. He cast one last look back at what had been his home for the past three years. Even in the forefront of his mind, he knew he probably wouldn't see it again. If that was the case, then so be it. If he had to take himself out to get rid of Slade, he would do it. He took of quickly, before anyone could realise he was gone.

(----)

Kory watched as Dick's back disappeared through the door that connected Titans Island to the mainland. She knew what he was doing. She knew it was going to happen. That was why she followed him. Kory knew the pain he was going through was almost unbearable to him. She leapt from the window and sped of after him. She knew one more thing as well:

She wouldn't let him go alone.

(----)

Raven's head felt like it weighed a ton. She tried to open her eyes but the most she could manage was not nearly enough. She could barely see through her lashes. She shut them again, deeming it hopeless for the time being. She flexed her hand and found that worked fine. Her toes and everything else seemed fine as well. Only her eyes wouldn't co-operate. She just felt too groggy.

"Stay still for a minute," A voice – Vic's – reached her ears. She nodded and then winced. A throbbing pain began to work through her head, making her wish she had stayed still. "The grogginess will pass soon." Vic informed her.

"…Headache…" she rasped. Her throat burnt in protest.

"That might stick around for a while," Vic said, his voice forcefully light.

"Swell," she murmured sarcastically. Why was she here again? What was going on? She voiced these questions and heard Vic shift uncomfortably. Something was wrong. Then it all came back to her:

She remembered it all. Her wonderful date with Garfield and Slade's unwanted arrival. She remembered being incapacitated by the tranquilliser and Garfield trying to fight Slade and then his downfall. A clear picture of Garfield's pale pink face appeared before her minds eye, his blue eyes unfocused and his blond hair tussled. She felt tears well up in her uncooperative eyes.

"You remember now," Vic said. "Don't you?"

"Garfield…?" Her throat burnt again.

"He's okay," Vic said. "Other than…you know."

Raven raised a hand to wipe at her eyes, trying - and succeeding this time - to open her eyes. She turned her head slowly to face Vic.

"What happened?" Vic asked.

"Slade…" she rasped out again. Her throat was just too sore and talking was hard at the moment.

"What did he do?" Vic prodded.

Raven wiped at her eyes again and turned her head away, ashamed. Ashamed of being seen crying and of failing to protect Garfield when he needed her. She felt Vic lay a hand on her shoulder but it did little to ease her pain.

"You really care about him huh?" Vic said, trying to keep his voice light. He smiled a little. "Gar will be thrilled to hear it. He's been crushing on you for so long, you know, and it's more than that. Anyone can see that."

"I know," Raven mumbled, through the protests of her burning throat.

"Heh," Vic's smile dropped. "Would you like some water? It should help with your throat."

Raven nodded slightly.

She heard Vic shuffled around a bit as he went to get her a glass of water, but before he came back, he said:

"Don't be sad Rae. Gar wouldn't want that. He'll be okay. He's a tough guy. You think he'll let this beat him?"

Raven turned back around and accepted the glass as it was handed to her. She quickly took a sip, letting out a sigh as the water eased its way down her sore throat. It felt better already. She took another sip.

"Better?"

She nodded as she pulled herself up in bed, resting her back against the headboard and turning to face Garfield's sleeping form in the next bed - she could hardly believe it was him. Vic yawned and Raven turned her head to face him.

"Go sleep," she said. "I'll call you…if he wakes." She managed to get out. She took another quick sip.

"Rae, are you…"

"Sleep." Raven implored. Vic smiled at her slightly and nodded.

"Thanks."

As Vic disappeared through the door Raven turned once again to face Gar. She felt tears threaten to break loose again and clenched her eyes shut. She hated crying.

(---)

On the outskirts of Jump City, near the lab of a certain Dr. Register, Nightwing crouched low along the edge of a shabby looking building. The area looked like one big dump. The buildings were worn down and messily patched up in places. Steam rose from broken vents and shrouded the streets below him. The moon cast its illuminating glow over the darkness of the shanty. Right now, Nightwing was reminded of his much-loved Gotham City.

He peered over the edge of the building, down into the street, and spied his target. A short stubby looking man with greying hair was walking uneasily through the fog, his boots splashing noisily into the many puddles that littered the uneven pavement. He was heading for the grungy bar (which proclaimed its name in bright neon letters: The Bump and Grind) at the end of the street. Too bad he wouldn't reach it.

Nightwing sent out his cable and descended into the street, snatching the weasel like man by the back of the neck and yanking him into a nearby alley. The man let out a ratty squeak and winced as Nightwing slammed him into the wall of the alley. Nightwing pushed himself up close to the man's terrified face and snarled in his best Bat voice:

"_Tell me everything you know about Slade Wilson!_"

The man squeaked again and let out a stuttering stream of what was sure to be words, although in his terrified state came out completely incoherent. Nightwing slammed him into the wall again and repeated his order. If he had looked down, he would have noticed a dark stream staining the man's pant leg. As it was, he didn't, and nor did he care either way. All he wanted was answers.

"Slade Wilson?" the man quivered.

"Slade!" Nightwing snarled. "Answer me or I'll make you wish you never had genitals in the first place!"

"He's…" the man blanched. "He's someone we don't like to talk about."

"What was that?" Nightwing roared.

"I mean," The man replied hastily. "We normally don't. But I…I can tell you…"

"Then do it!"

"We know him as Deathstroke the Terminator." He went on just as quickly. "He normally goes by a strict code and is very well respected, though feared, in the underground. Fortunately, Deathstroke hasn't been heard of in over four years. Not one job. Not one sign of him."

"Job?"

"He's a mercenary." The terrified man answered. "It's said that he used to work for the military, but he was dismissed. He used to work with a partner – the Ravager – but he was killed not long ago. Shortly after that Slade disappeared and hasn't been seen for four years…like I said."

"The Ravager? He?" Nightwing repeated.

"Yes,"

"Are you sure it was a he?" Nightwing clarified.

"Positive," the man cast a glance to the side, but quickly looked back at Nightwing. "Definitely a he. He was supposed to be his son, but no one knew for sure."

"Slade has family?" Nightwing asked, continuing his interrogation.

"He had family," the man corrected. "His wife left him and after his son died…my guess is he couldn't handle it. Though none of that matters for you. Not now."

Nightwing barely had time to react as the bat was swung at his head. He ducked just in time, spun away from the fat man and came up, finding himself face to face with five hard looking men. Not one of them could fare up against Nightwing though, so he smirked. They were just your typical thugs. The leader – the one who swung the bat, and was now continually bashing it into his open palm as if he was hard – was smirking at him. The weasel like man dipped behind the group of thugs and escaped.

"Look what we have here," The bat wielder cooed. "What's a big bad super hero doing way out here in the slums?"

"Man," One of the other men spoke up. "This is Nightwing. We shouldn't be messing with him Boss."

"I'll tell you who we mess with idiot," Bat wielder spun the bat around.

"Don't you mean 'whom' Boss?" One of the others piped up.

"Shut up!" The Boss snarled. "As I was saying. It's five against one. He doesn't stand a chance."

In that instant, three of the men attacked, led by the boss, and the other two followed reluctantly. A minute later each of them had their own private section of alley to doze in. Two of them needed to have bones mended. One of them would surely be raiding his girlfriend's makeup bag to cover a nasty black eye. The leader was lying spread eagled on the ground and wouldn't be having intercourse with anyone anytime soon. The last thug was hanging half out of a nearby dumpster, legs sticking up into the air, mouth full of garbage.

Nightwing extended his grapple hook and disappeared.

(----)

Raven was sitting cross-legged on her hospital bed, attempting to meditate. She had been sitting and watching Garfield for hours now and little by little her strength had returned and she had just decided she was long over due for some meditation. She closed her eyes and felt herself leave the bed.

Her mind freed itself from its boundaries and soured away. Everything around her drifted away until nothing was left but peace. She blocked off all emotions – sealing herself within her own self fashioned Azarath.

This was a part of her mind in which she used to escape the often-overbearing emotional attack she received on Earth. Here she couldn't feel anything that didn't belong within herself. Here she was free and safe.

…And in her emotion free world she failed to notice the spike of panic that signalled the awakening of one Garfield Logan.

(----)

Gar slowly blinked his eyes open. A harsh bright light almost blinded him but it quickly dissipated as he blinked his eyes again. He found himself staring up at the sickly white ceiling of the hospital room in Titans Tower. Like Raven before him Gar couldn't recall how he ended up here, but shrugging it of as just another day as a Titan, he turned his head left.

Over the pinkish skin of his left arm he could see Raven floating above the hospital bed next to his.

_Funny…did something happen to her as well?_ He thought, mentally scratching his head. _She doesn't look hurt…_

In the back of his mind he knew something was wrong with the picture his eyes where relaying to him, but he just could not put his finger on it. He sat up, groaning a little, and raised his hand to run it through his hair. He froze.

_FLASH!_

_Slade stood up and raised a foot before slamming it hard into Gar's head. Gar felt his entire body shake and his vision blurred. Slade boot came down once again right in the center of his chest and he gasped for breath as it all left his lungs. Slade knelt down in front of him. He pulled a long object that looked somewhat like a syringe through Gar's hazy vision. _

"Say goodbye to the Beast Boy you knew Raven," Slade hissed, before shoving the needle roughly into the boys arm. Gar hissed in pain. Slade pressed the plunger and Gar's eyes drooped shut before his head lolled forward and he lost consciousness.

_FLASH!_

"…No…" the hardly audible word left Gar's lips without them even moving. "No."

Tears sprung to his eyes and the pink arm before him began to haze through the tears. It couldn't be? Not this. Being Beast Boy was who he was…IS!

He just couldn't _not_ be Beast Boy. Otherwise…what did he have? Nothing - that's what. He would have nothing and he would be nothing. He would just be some orphan boy - nothing special.

"**NO!**" the words tore themselves out of his throat. It felt like he had ripped out his heart in the process. Hands clutched over his face as more and more tears fell. Shuddering shoulders symbolised his entire world falling apart around him. A gasp sounded to his left but he hardly heard it over the sounds of his own grief.

Between the heart-wrenching sobs and his mental plea to whatever evil God ruled over his world he vaguely felt arms come around to encircle him. A hand began to run through his hair and his head came to rest on a soft black clothed shoulder, his arms falling limp at his side.

"Shh…" a soothing voice cooed in his ear. His chest still hitched, but as he felt himself come down from his emotional high he came to the realisation it was Raven holding him. He pulled back, his wide sparkling blue eyes shinning with tears. She gave him a weak smile and pulled him to her again. He let his arms come up to cross around her back and he buried his head once more in her soft shoulder. Her hair oddly soothed him as it fell just long enough to tickle his stained cheek.

"It's okay Garfield," she said, softly. "It's going to be okay."

He wanted to believe her, but in the back of his mind, Gar just couldn't accept that. Being a Titan was his life - Slade had taken that away. The Titans were his family - Slade had taken that as well. Garfield felt that nothing could make this day worse.

(----)

The Bump and Grind was one of the few bars in Jump City that catered to the criminals, the thief's and the all around general scum of the underground crime society. Most of the town's criminals feared the Titans and this kept the majority of the City clean. The only part of the City that wasn't clean was the outskirts. This was where the crime was really rough, reminiscent of Nightwing's Gotham City, though not nearly as bad.

If you wanted information on low life criminals then the Bump and Grind was the place to be. Nightwing knew this; after all, this was where he got all his information on Synovium – the chemical that powered the Red X suit. And that was why, at nearly 4 o'clock in the morning, the door of the Bump and Grind exploded open and the harsh silhouette of Nightwing stood in the doorway.

The bar was dark and dirty. Over to one side of the room, a stage was set up with several poles extending from the floor to the ceiling. Girls in varying degrees of undress stopped in mid gyration. Round tables littered the floor before him. Directly across from the door was the bar, and running along the back a shelf full of alcohol.

All eyes turned to him and silence fell upon the bar. Some glared at him, clearly angry at his intrusion. Some shrunk back in fear. The girls stopped to cover up (though some did not even bother) and moved quietly back towards the wall. However, Nightwing paid them no mind. His eyes focused on the barman. The man behind the bar was almost as fat as the weasel like man and had a fine shaped moustache framing his upper lip. He finished cleaning off a dirty looking mug and then leant forward, hands resting on the bar top. Nightwing entered.

Nightwing stood before the bar, still not looking anywhere but at the man behind the bar. Mr. Moustache looked right back at him. All eyes were still locked on Nightwing.

"What can I do for you?" the barman asked, after a long silence.

"I need to know where Slade is." Nightwing said, without faltering. The room – if possible – became even more silent.

"Slade?" the barman asked. "I do not know that name. Sorry."

"Oh," Nightwing placed his own hands on the bar and leant forward, staring right into the eyes of the fat man. "You do. I just got finished having a little chat with your brother so don't bother trying to lie to me. He helped me a little, but you and me both know how much of an incompetent fool your brother is. But you…you _will_ tell me where to find Slade."

"Oh really."

The sound of several chairs grating against dirty and uneven wood. Nightwing smirked and leant back, turning to face the now standing audience. They grinned and snarled angrily at him. He raised his hand to his back, going to release one escrima stick (after all, that would be all he needed to take down the thugs). Before he could do that though, a waspish voice hissed out through the crowd:

"Oh there is no need for that…no need at all…my little _Robin_."

"Slade."

(----)

**Piccolo999**


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, it belongs to DC, etc etc, you know the deal.

Pre-read by KrabKakes.

Okay, sorry for the tiny delay but I haven't been that well lately. Also, I've come across a little problem, and I'm going to have to re-write the end of the next chapter (which is the last chapter for this story). You see my computer went crazy on me and stopped working, so I had to reformat it, but in doing so I lost all my files. I managed to get most of them back off my Beta reader but she doesn't seem to have the full last chapter. Therefore it might be a little bit longer before I get the final chapter out. Sorry for this big mess, it's really pissed me off, but there's nothing I can do about it, so…

Hope you enjoy.

**The Despair Game**

Chapter Seven

After leaving the hospital room and going to his own bedroom to charge up his batteries, Victor had insured that he would know the instant Gar awoke. He had set his internal sensors to pick up on Gar's heartbeat – through the heart monitor by the unconscious boys bedside – and awaken him instantly once the boy himself rose. And as it was Victor found himself coming out of his enforced slumber around about 4 O'clock in the morning. He made his way as fast as possible to the hospital wing, trying to shake of the lag in his system created by his unexpected reboot.

When he arrived he found Raven waiting for him outside. One look at her told him what his own system had told him not long ago. The sad look in her tired eyes, her previously wet hair now fluffy and tangled, and the droop in her shoulders. Gar was awake and he wasn't taking it well. Vic had to admit he wasn't really surprised. Gar was his best friend and he knew him better than anyone else on the team.

Vic knew that Gar would be crushed by his newfound appearance - his return to normalcy. I guess you'd expect him to be happy about it, but Vic and everyone that really knew Gar would know that that wouldn't be the case. Gar found meaning in his existence as Beast Boy, something that was lacking in his earlier life before the Titans. And as Gar had once said: "Being normal is overrated."

In short, if Gar couldn't live as Beast Boy, he probably thought he didn't have a reason to exist.

"Raven," Vic said, coming up next to the bedraggled looking girl. "Is he…?"

"Yes," Raven replied with a nod. "But I ask you to leave him alone for now. He needs time. Time to think. You understand?"

"Ah," Vic sighed. "Yeah, I guess. But…"

"I know," Raven interrupted. "I will remain to watch him. Even if he doesn't want me in the room I can sense how he is feeling and know if danger is approaching. I am best suited for the job."

"Yeah, you're right." Vic conceded. "Keep an eye on him, 'kay Rae?"

"Indeed."

(----)

Nightwing's body crashed into the bar with enough force to send a crushing wave of pain straight up his back and out of his mouth: in the form of a grunt. He tried to stand back up to fight but a strong pair of arms kept him down at both sides. He looked up at the smirking visage of Slade before him and felt his blood boil.

"I have to say…you're decision to come after me all alone was a very stupid one, don't you think?" Slade mocked.

"Screw you!" Nightwing hissed. Slade leant in close to Nightwing, enjoying the anger curling the teenager's lips.

"Now, now, now," Slade waged a finger. "That's not very nice, is it? Here I am, about to spare your life, and all you can do is fling insults at me. You should show some respect to your former Master. I say former…because I no longer have a use for you…my new apprentice is…" Slade hummed. "Let's just say she's much more satisfying."

"You…!" Nightwing attempted to fling himself at Slade - and partially succeeded – but the grips on his arms where too strong and he fell foul to a right hand by Slade. His back hit the counter again and blood trickled down his nose and over his curled lips.

"I presume you are wondering why I am leaving you alive?" Slade asked. He chuckled. "Simply put. You are of much more use to me alive than dead. I was going to kill you but then I had a better idea. You see, I wonder, how will the Titans fair when they learn of their leader's defeat? How will they fair when they find you're unconscious body - all beaten and bloody and ruined – outside in one of those wonderful dark alleys, lying face down in a puddle full of your own blood."

Nightwing glared up at Slade.

"Oh don't make that face at me…" Slade laughed. "You got yourself into this mess. It's a good job you're so incompetent. I would never had had this opportunity if you hadn't let our good friend Weasel get away from you."

Nightwing snarled low in his throat and cast shaky eyes over the crowd behind Slade, finding said Weasel watching with a smug smile on his face. Letting that man get away was going to haunt Nightwing's dreams in the weeks to come.

"That's right," Slade nodded, watching as Nightwing eyes focussed back on him. "This time I'm going to make sure you Titans pay. Especially Raven – for what she and her father did to me. I will take this town. It will become my own little empire. I now rule the underground, and soon, I will rule all of Jump City. The Titans will be no more. I can think of no better way to ruin the lot of you snivelling children."

"That won't…" Nightwing began, but Slade lashed out with another fist, forcing Nightwing to the ground. He let lose with a stream of kicks, smashing into Nightwing's ribs and breaking them. Slade pulled back up to his normal height, peering down at the pain filled expression on Nightwing's face.

"Beat him within an inch of his life and then leave him to rot on the streets." Slade said, quite calmly, but not even one of the men in the room failed to hear it. They fell down on Nightwing like a pack of vultures as Slade turned and left the bar. He was smirking all the way.

(----)

Raven kept her promise to Vic and stood watch outside the Hospital Room. She was almost completely still as she sat outside the door, her mind wandering. It wasn't necessary for her to reach out with her empathic abilities to find and check on Gar. As was usual, his emotions cascaded off of him like water over a rock face, noisily beating into her skull as water would against the ground. She was scared to suppress it even a little, but the pounding was beginning to get too much for her, so she had no choice but to dampen it - only slightly though.

Sighing in relief, she went back to her musings. One question kept coming back to her over and over again. That one question was simple – why? Why was Slade so intent on torturing the Titans? He had never shown this much malicious intent towards them before, so why now? What had happened to make him despise them so?

Raven supposed it could be many things. Perhaps he was growing tired of them? _But if that is so_, Raven thought. _Why hasn't he just killed us yet? He has had plenty of chances. He could have killed Bart in that burning building. He would have killed Tara on the roof of the hospital and Gar on the mountains outcropping. No doubt if he did he would have succeeded in killing Dick as well. _

It was safe to say Slade's intent was to torture - not kill. That would rule out the first reason. Another reason could be that he wants them to pay for putting him in jail for over a year. Raven didn't think that likely. It wasn't Slade's style. He was too calm and cold to let that affect him. Too proud too let something so trivial – for that was what it was to him – affect him. He proved that with the ease of his escape.

And that was another thing that bothered her - his escape. It was too easy. Why – if he could escape so easily – did he not? He spent over a year stewing in that jail cell without a peep. Then suddenly, he escapes. Why?

There was that question again. Why? Everything was unexplained, confusing. Slade was indeed winning this time, and in everyway possible.

Raven paused in her thoughts and let out a tiny sigh. Looking up, her neck gave a groan of resistance and she winced. She rubbed at the back off her aching neck and let her eyes drift closed and her empathic abilities snake out to the rest of the tower. Before she could even reach the end of the corridor, however, her eyes snapped open and her power came flooding back to her as she jumped to her feet and charged through the door of the Hospital Room.

Why?

She couldn't sense Gar.

(----)

For the second time that night Vic was awoken from his slumber, but this time not by any internal alarms. This time it was external, in the form of a beating against his door. Vic sat up and clambered his way over to the door, frowning. He pressed the button and the door opened with the ever-present _swish_. He found himself staring down at a worried looking Raven.

"Raven?" he said, groggily, rubbing his eyes. What was going on? "What's going on?"

"It's Gar!" Raven rushed out. "He's gone."

"Gone?" Vic yawned. "Gar's gone? Wha…" And then it finally hit him. "What! Gar's gone!"

"Yes!" Raven answered. "Gone."

"How?"

"I don't know…" Raven whispered. "He was there one minute and the next he's gone. What's worse, I can't even sense him. I can always sense him."

"What do you mean?" Vic asked.

"Gar's an emotional foghorn." Raven expanded. "I can normally sense him even from half way across town. It'd be faint, but there."

"But you can't…?" Vic's eyes widened.

"I can't sense him anywhere." Raven reiterated. "He's gone!"

"Damn!" Vic slammed his fist into the wall. "Have you told…?"

"Dick?" Raven lowered her head. "No…he's gone as well. Kory too."

"What?" Vic gave a shuddering sigh. "Dammit! Okay, get everyone together. Quick."

"Right." Raven disappeared in a cloud of dark ominous smoke. Vic sighed one more time and then took of down the corridor.

(----)

Kory had followed Dick across town, making sure to keep just out of view in case he spotted her. She certainly didn't want him to know she was following him. However, Kory forgot whom she was dealing with, and some found herself alone, with absolutely no idea where Dick had headed. She resigned herself to searching the rest of the city pretty quickly. That is where we catch up with her.

As Kory flew her thoughts raced. She knew Dick was getting into trouble, and she knew he would need her help. She wasn't going to let him down. That's why she followed him and why she had to find him.

Kory had lost a lot of things in her life. She had lost her parents and her planet when she was young, being captured by the Psions, an evil race of scientists who performed cruel experiments on her and her sister - Komand'r, otherwise known as Blackfire. The two sisters were subjected to solar energy, but unknown to the Psions the Tamaranean body was capable of absorbing this power and unwittingly gave them both the power to use Starbolts.

After escaping the Psions she found herself on earth and soon joined the Teen Titans. She had only been able to return home on a few occasions, but to be honest; Tamaran was no longer her true home. Earth was her home now. Home was wherever Dick was. That's why she would not let him fight alone. That's why she had to find him.

Kory was flying low over the rooftops and (using her Starbolts to light the way) peering through the illuminated darkness and into every nook and cranny she could find. So far, she had had no luck in finding Dick. That was all about to change.

A loud, clanging sound filled the air, followed by some extremely manly grunting (which sounded just like the ones useless thugs trained their throats to sound like – it made them sound "hard") and then silence. Kory quickly changed direction and headed that way.

She found herself starring down into an alley scattered with beaten and bloody bodies. She descended. Inspecting the scene, she found two men unconscious, leaning against the wall, cradling surely broken arms (one also had a nastily twisted leg). Another was slumped against a stack of night black garbage bags. His eye was just a tad lighter than the black bags - just a tad. Another was sticking up into the air, his face buried in the garbage dumpster. The final guy was laying spread eagled in the middle of the floor, mouth hanging open and drooling. Kory kicked him in the side idly, but he didn't wake. This was definitely the work of Nightwing.

Kory left the alley on foot, but turning the corner, she froze. Something was lying slumped over, face first in the dirt, being kicked by two laughing men. The something was dark. It was dark like the night.

Nightwing.

Kory wasn't aware that she spoke this out loud, but was completely aware of the fact that the two hyenas had turned to face her. They gaped at her, but before they could call for help Kory was in front of them, and then the next second they where unconscious like the thugs she had left behind in the alley. Kory disregarded them and knelt by Dick's side.

Dick looked bad. He wasn't breathing - at least not noticeably. He was pale, had definite bruises under his eye mask and blood smeared down across his face and dripping from his nose. Kory felt tears sting at her eyes as she carefully rolled him over and placed her head over his heart.

Thump…thump…thump.

It was beating, but just barely. She had to get him home, to Victor, as soon as possible. Not wasting anytime, she cradled his bruised and beaten body and lifted off into the air.

(----)

Raven had gathered Tara and Bart as quickly as possible, teleporting them into the common room of Titans Tower. Vic was waiting for them there. Upon landing, Tara dashed forward, her eyes finding Vic's back. Vic was pacing. Not a good sign. His heavy feet made an aggravated thunking rhythm on the floor.

"What's going on?" she rushed out, so that it sounded more like 'wusgon' than any combination of English words. Vic turned sharply to face her.

"Tara…" Vic said, rather blankly. Tara's eyes urged him to continue but he just continued to stare at her. Raven stood up straighter behind Tara and turned to face the sleepy figure of Bart. He wobbled slightly on the spot and jumped when she put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Huh?" Bart groaned. "Time for school already?" Bart blinked.

"What's going on?" Tara repeated, this time turning on Raven. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Be quiet Terra." Raven snapped, raising a hand to her forehead and beginning to massage it. She could feel the beginning of a very bad and troublesome headache coming on - a bad omen.

"I'll be quiet when someone tells me what's going on!" Tara shouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Raven winced.

Vic, coming to his senses, put a hand on Tara's shoulder to calm her. Tara turned to face him.

"What's going on?" she whispered, one last time. Vic dropped his gaze.

"Gar's missing…" He finally said.

"Missing?" Tara went deathly pale. "He's missing? But…but you…he can't have gone. You said you'd watch him! You promised!"

"I'm sorry." Vic replied. "But that's not the only problem we have…Dick and Kory are missing as well…"

"Oh…" Tara rubbed at the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "So…what?"

"We have to find them," Vic began. "Tara, you and I are going to search the northern area of the City."

"Okay," Tara nodded, continuing to rub at her eyes.

"Bart," Vic went on.

Bart looked up blearily. "Huh?"

"Search with Raven." Vic said, ignoring the zombie like Bart. "Right? Move…"

Before Vic could finish the order the door behind the group opened with a hiss and Kory appeared, carrying the beaten Dick Grayson.

"Kory!" Vic gasped, but on spotting Dick went completely silent. Kory looked up, her eyes wet with tears and her face twisted with pain.

"Oh my god." Tara exhaled.

Raven looked up and her eyes widened. "…No."

"Help me!" Kory yelled, striding into the room. "He's dying!" She sobbed. "Don't let him die!"

"Hospital Wing…" Vic managed to get out, turning his face away from the bloody sight. He quickly followed after Kory as she disappeared out of the room at a speed worthy of the Flash legacy. The rest followed…

…Except a still half asleep Bart Allen: who let out a loud snore.

(----)

The steady, way too slow beat of the heart monitor was like a repeated knife to the chest for Kory. Vic was attaching all kinds of medical equipment and needles and tubes to Dick's body and all she could do was watch and hope. She couldn't even tear he eyes away from the sight. She just couldn't think past anything other than Dick. She didn't even take notice of the two other Titans in the room and the lack of the usually green Titan Garfield Logan.

Raven was standing on the other side of the bed with her hood up, watching Vic. Tara was pacing, ringing her hands together and muttering something that sounded like 'please be all right' over and over again.

Finally, Vic stopped and looked up. Dick's heart monitor continued its steady beat.

"He's…stable." Vic said, slowly and deliberately.

Tara stopped pacing.

"Stable?" Kory croaked. He voice didn't seem to want to cooperate. "What does that mean?"

"It means he's not going to die…" Vic said. He couldn't bear to finish the sentence out loud.

_He's not going to die yet._

Kory let out a muffled sniff and wiped at her eyes. "What…will he…?"

"He's in a coma." Vic said, sadly. "He might not wake up for a while."

"Oh…no." Kory dashed past Vic and grabbed Dick's lifeless and pale hand, minding the attached drip.

"How long?" Raven finally asked, raising her head a little.

"I don't know." Vic admitted. "Could be days…months…"

"…Years?" Tara squeaked.

"Maybe…"

"No!" Kory shouted, turning her tear stained face on the rest of the Titans. "He'll wake up. Dick is too strong…" she hiccupped. "…Too strong too…not…wake…" And she dissolved into a loud set of wails, burying her head in Dick's chest.

Tara wiped at her own eyes. Vic stepped forward and put a hand on one of Kory's hitching shoulders. "I'm sorry." He said.

Raven turned away from the painful sight and walked over to a nearby window, staring out at the rising sun. It had been a long, hard night for the Titans. Hopefully the morning would be a little better. Hopefully.

(----)

The Titans – minus Dick, Kory and Gar – sat around the meeting room table, looking sullen - as was their mood. Raven and Vic sat near the head off the table, but neither one of could even make themselves look at the head seat (Dick's), let alone sit in it. Tara sat in her usual seat, as did the now awake and unusually quiet Bart. Raven finally broke the silence.

"We still have a problem to deal with." She said. "Garfield is still missing. We need to split up and find him, but before we do that…we…we need to decide on a new leader. At least temporarily."

No one spoke at this. It was safe to say not one of them felt like they could fill Dick's shoes. Unfortunately, it was necessary.

"You should do it." Tara said, quietly.

"Me?" Raven asked, rather surprised. "Why?"

"You founded the Titans right?" Tara said. "You and Dick. Therefore it's your responsibility. Isn't it?"

"Well, I guess, but I don't have any experience in leading people. In case you didn't notice, I don't really do people. I don't think I can lead." Raven gibbered.

"But…" Tara would have gone on to argue her point, but:

"I think…" Everyone looked at Bart, who scratched the back of his head nervously. He went on anyway. "I think Vic should do it."

A long silence as everyone took in this new information. Then:

"I agree." Raven added.

"Wait." Vic rushed out. "Me? I'm flattered, but I'm no leader."

"I disagree." Raven argued. "You'd be a great leader. I mean…you know…but I know you can do it."

"I…" Vic began, but Tara cut him off.

"Yeah," she said. "Raven is right. You'll be a great leader. I mean, you're smart and reliable and…well…you'll just be a great leader."

Bart nodded.

Vic looked around at the approving faces of his friends and teammates and felt a slight smile tug at his lips. Despite the bleak situation they where currently forced with dealing with, his friends belief in him was touching, so he nodded in agreement and accepted his role as the New (_temporary_, he added in his head) leader of the Teen Titans.

"Then let's find Garfield." Raven said.

(----)

**Piccolo999**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, except a cool little Ravager action figure and a less than a minute "hour" glass. So don't sue me, unless you're fond of Christmas cracker presents. Teen Titans is owned by DC, etc etc.

**Authors Note:** Yeah, here it is…what, did you expect something else? Enjoy!

**The Despair Game**

Chapter Eight

Blond hair poked out from under the dark hood of a long black coat as a figure plunged on through the street, the morning sunlight glittering of the many tiny droplets of water still residing there from the nights rain. The figure was hunched over as it walked, hands stuffed in its pockets, boots splashing into leftover puddles of water. Down the street the figure walked – the figure of the now unrecognisable Beast Boy.

Garfield Logan.

Gar felt like a zombie, with only one goal on his mind, though it certainly wasn't to eat as many human brains as possible. No, Gar's goal was completely his own. He could not live his life as Garfield Logan. He needed to be Beast Boy. That left him with only one thing to do, and that was to get his powers back. That was Gar's goal.

Gar didn't even see the fellow pedestrian come around the corner, not realising until he bumped into the man's shoulder. His body ricocheted off and he spun around, his face turning up and his lifeless eyes locking onto the man's startled and angered expression.

"Watch it dude!" the man said, turning his back on Gar and leaving him standing on the street corner. Gar watched the man's back until he was no longer visible.

That was all that was left for him now. That encounter was everything he was striving to avoid. He was normal, unrecognisable, just plain old Gar Logan. As Beast Boy he was recognized, but not as Gar Logan. He was just another useless being, struggling to make something of himself. Struggling to not be left behind, forgotten, lost in history as nobody.

Gar turned the corner and stared up at his destination.

All of that was why he had to become Beast Boy again. Gar needed to feel like someone. He needed to be remembered, to prove he existed and was worthy of breathing.

Gar went forward, taking each step quickly before his figure was gone, through the doors of S.T.A.R. Labs.

(----)

Darkness surrounded Rose Wilson as she sat alone on one of the many crates in the abandoned warehouse she currently called home. Her trusted Katana rested by her side and nestled in her lap laid the dark crumpled material that passed for her mask - the mask that separated herself from the Ravager.

It was something her father kept pressing into her mind, but she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Her father kept telling her that she was the Ravager, yet Rose didn't want to believe that. She couldn't believe that.

She wasn't the Ravager. The Ravager was animalistic…a predator…a hunter. Rose was just a teenager, and she didn't like the thought of her two personalities becoming one. She didn't like the idea of the Ravager being all that she was. Of course, she could never say that to her father. She loved him. She wouldn't disappoint him.

A heavy hum filled the air, followed by a bright light as the overhead lamps came to life. Footsteps sounded as Rose blinked her eyes against the harsh light. When everything came back into focus she looked up at the tall visage of her father – Slade Wilson.

"It's time." Slade said.

"Yes Father." Rose replied, slipping the mask over her head.

The Ravager stood and followed Slade out of the room.

(----)

The remaining Titans – meaning Cyborg, Raven, Terra and Kid Flash – had gathered together in the common room of Titans Tower. Cyborg was going over the groups plan to find Gar.

"…I'll be co-ordinating the search from here. Raven and Terra, you will be searching around the City center, checking all of BB's usual hangouts, okay?"

Both girls nodded agreement.

"Bart, I want you to look everywhere else. With your speed you'll be able to search much faster than anyone else. Report to me as you go so I can…"

But Vic would never get to finish giving his orders. A cold metallic voice came from behind Vic and he turned to find himself face to face with Slade's head, pictured on the Titans large monitor.

"Hello dear Titans," Slade cooed. "I hope you all haven't missed me too much. How's my little Robin? Still breathing I hope. That's good. Now I think I'll get straight to the point. This little game we've been playing…well…it ends here. I've grown rather bored of it, you see. I thought you'd put up more of a fight, but I must say I'm disappointed. Ah well, never the less, it's time. Raven…I wonder, how is Beast Boy? Desperate for a cure, I imagine. Well, I have that cure, and you can have it too, on one condition. You must come alone to warehouse seventy-eight on pier three. Just you Raven - the rest of the Titans must stay put. If you come and you manage to beat me, I will give you the cure. If you don't come, I'll be forced to destroy you all, but not before I destroy Beast Boy's only hope of ever getting his powers back. Understand? Good. I hope to see you soon."

The monitor went black and silence rang out amongst the Titans. Finally, Raven turned on her heel and strode for the door. Cyborg dashed to get in her way.

"What are you doing?" Cyborg asked, rather louder than he intended.

"I'm going to fight Slade." Raven said. "I'm going to get Beast Boy's cure."

"You can't be serious." Cyborg almost groaned. "It's obviously a trap. He probably doesn't even have a cure. Think about it Rae."

"I have." Raven snarled. "If you get in my way I'll take you down. I should have helped Garfield but I couldn't. I wish every minute that I could. Now, even if it's just a tiny possibility that I can, I'm going to do everything in my power to do so. Please get out of my way Vic."

"Raven…" Cyborg pleaded with his eyes, but Raven refused to back down. Finally, he sighed and stepped aside. The door closed behind Raven with it's tell tale swish, although to everyone in the room, especially Cyborg, it sounded more like a cell door slamming shut and locking, sealing Raven's fate.

(----)

The light of the morning sun shone across the pier, casting long shadows out before it. In stark contrast to the morning sun came an obsidian darkness from which Raven rose. She came to stand before warehouse seventy-eight and almost certain doom. Raven cast her eyes around from underneath her hood, and finding no sign of life she took off towards the door, her steps cautious.

Raven was no stranger to darkness and was neither surprised nor scared when she entered into the almost pitch black warehouse. She continued her cautious steps into near total darkness, looking every which way for a source of light. Before she could take another step, however, Slade's voice echoed from all around her.

"Ah Raven," he let out a light chuckle, which crackled over the warehouse's sound system. "I'm surprised you came alone. Well, okay, maybe not so much surprised. Though I did have my doubts as to whether you would be stupid enough to fall into my oh-so-obvious trap. You disappoint me. You care for the little green changeling so much? How sweet."

"Enough!" Raven roared, her eyes glowing white and her hair rising around her. "I came here to fight Slade, not throw around idle words. Come out."

"My, my, my," Slade's cold voice replied, sounding vaguely amused. "Aren't we feisty. Are we so desperate to die? Very well."

The lights in the warehouse boomed to life and blinded Raven for a second. A second in which Slade took to his advantage, jumping down from his position in the warehouse's control room and throwing two stun grenades towards the dazed teenager.

Raven gasped as the grenades exploded, further blinding her, and a moment later let out a cry as Slade's fist connected with her jaw. She fell tumbling to the floor, her cape bunching up around her. Slade drew a long bladed sword and held it to her throat. Raven looked up at him through the beginnings of tears of pain.

"Do you understand how humiliated I felt at being forced to bow down before you and your demon father?" Slade bellowed. He tore his mask from his face, revealing his aged face, white beard and his one eye narrowed in anger. "This is not the face of an underling. This is the face of a warrior - a man of pride. Do you understand me demon spawn?"

Raven's eyes flashed and Slade's sword was encased in the familiar obsidian darkness of Raven's telekinetic like powers. She tore it from his grip and it flew away, embedding itself somewhere in the wall to their left. Slade smirked as Raven stood up and took a few steps back.

"So I see you are not holding back." Slade commented. "Good. But if you think I haven't planned for this, you are mistaken."

Slade whipped out his hand, which held some sort of controller. It was shaped like a rectangle box and in the middle was a round button. Slade pressed the button. Raven let out a howl of pain and collapsed to her knees, her arms coming to wrap around herself. Slade smirked.

"How does that feel Raven?" Slade mocked. "I bet you had no idea that that tranquilliser dart contained more than just a tranquilliser, did you?" Slade laughed. "What you ask? Tiny little Nanomachines, running around through your entire body, ready to attack you from the inside the instant I press this button. Like so."

Slade pressed the button again, and Raven let out another howl of pain. Slade laughed again.

(----)

Vic paced up and down the Titan's common room, looking back and forth between his feet and the clock that resided above the doorway. Tara watched him and despite the situation couldn't help but smile. He was cute when he was worried. Finally, she stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him.

"Calm down," Tara said. "Raven's tough. She'll be fine."

"Liar." Vic grunted. "You know Slade better than any of us. Well, maybe not Dick, but…Thanks."

"Shouldn't we do something?" Bart piped in.

"We can't." Vic admitted. "All we can do is wait."

"And hope." Tara added.

"Bummer."

(----)

Raven's whole body felt numb. She crawled at Slade's feet as he pressed the button again and again, sending pain shooting throughout her entire body. She raised her right hand, using her left to hoist herself up, and tried to focus her powers. The best she could manage was to wrap a shadowy tentacle around Slade's neck, but he easily kicked her aside and she lost her concentration.

Slade walked over to her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up and slamming her into a nearby crate. Her back ached in protest as he forced her backwards and snarled in her face.

"Is that the best you can do?" he taunted.

Slade held the device before her face and pressed the button. Pain shot through her body again and she screamed. Slade grinned. He let go of the button and Raven stopped screaming. She drew in deep panting breaths, her hands clawing weekly at Slade's hand wrapped around her throat. Slade brought his free hand to his side and withdrew a dagger from his utility belt.

"I wonder what interesting sound I can make you make with this little beauty?" Slade cooed.

Raven's eyes widened as he moved the knife gracefully before her face. He moved it to her cheek, arcing it downwards, cutting into her flesh. Raven hissed in pain, her watery eyes staring into Slade's maniacal ones.

"Does that hurt?" Slade asked, his eyes narrowing. "I hope so."

He moved the dagger away from her face and with one swift movement plunged it into her stomach. Raven arched forward, another scream escaping her, before she crumbled to the floor, her hands coming up to the dagger stuck in her gut.

_No_, her mind thought, over and over again. _This can't be it. It can't end like this…please…_

Raven tried to get away, crawling across the floor, her mind too scared to even contemplate using her powers. Slade watched her with a smirk for a while, enjoying the sight of the fragile Raven. He soon got bored though, and kicked her in the side, flipping her onto her back. He straddled her waist and placed one hand around her neck again and the other onto the dagger. He twisted and she shrieked in pain.

"That's it dear Raven," Slade murmured. "Scream for me."

Raven felt her world swim around her, her vision blaring and her ears failing her. She was dying. She knew it.

_No_, she pleaded silently. _Please no._

"Finding it hard to breathe?" Slade jeered, twisting the knife further. "Poor little Raven."

_You have to…do something_, Raven tried to will herself to life. _Come on. Fight. Don't let Slade win. Come…on…_

Slade let go of the blade and wrapped his hand almost lovingly around Raven's head, coming her hair, smiling all the way and loving the fear in her eyes. He stroked her cheek with his other hand.

"I have enjoyed our little game Raven," Slade said, his grin widening. "Unfortunately for you, it, like many things in life, has grown tiring. Goodbye."

Raven's eyes began to flash, but it was too late, as Slade's hand twitched sharply to the side and her neck broke with a sick crack. Slade leant down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Sleep tight."

Slade let her head fall and stood from his position around her waist. He looked down into the lifeless eyes of the dead Titan and smiled.

"Now for the rest of them."

(----)

Kory had her head resting over Dick's heart, listening to its slow beat mixing with the heart monitor, when the Titan's alarm sounded. She stood up quickly and ran to the door. She stood guard; waiting for whatever was attacking to show itself, ready to defend Dick's unconscious body with her life.

(----)

Cyborg stopped his pacing as soon as the alarm sounded, turning to face the other two Titans in the room: Terra and Kid Flash.

"Damn," he cursed.

Before he could issue any orders though the large window that looked out over the expanse of ocean exploded in a shower of sharp glass, raining down on them all. Cyborg dashed forward and forced Terra down, using his metallic body to shield her flesh and blood one. Kid Flash zipped away as a red and yellow blur, only to re-appear once all the glass had fallen. He stared at the sight just outside the window and let out an audible gulp.

"Uh…" Kid Flash droned. "Cy, I think you should take a look at this."

Cyborg raised his head and looked out of the now none existent window. Terra followed suite.

An entire army of hovering robots - designed to look almost exactly the same as Slade in his combat garb – greeted them. They floated in through the window and landed on the glass-strewn floor. Cyborg counted around about 30 robots in total. Not good.

"This is _so_ not good." Kid Flash said with a groan.

"You have no idea Kid Flash," a chilling voice agreed from somewhere in the midst of the Slade Bots. The owner of the voice stepped out and into the forefront, holding his Bo Staff to one side. "Of course, I mean to say it's not good for you. Me, on the other hand…"

Slade twirled his stick and grinned underneath his mask.

"Titans Go!" Cyborg roared.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Cyborg realised this didn't bode well for Raven, but faced with the onslaught of Slade Bots and the man himself, he didn't have chance to think about it fully. All he could do was attack…and attack he did.

(----)

Starfire looked up and down the hall, searching for her opponent, waiting for them to show themselves. It unnerved her that they hadn't already. What was going on? Was she stupid to stay here and protect Dick? No, she wasn't. She had too.

_But what about the rest of the Titans_, a small, annoyingly right voice whispered in her ear. _What if they need your help right now?_

Starfire ground her teeth together and slammed her fist into the wall, which cracked under her superior might. She spared it not even a thought. Her entire being was focused on her predicament. And that was her undoing.

A small, hardly within hearing noise alerted her to the presence of her opponent, but it was too late. She turned around quickly and fell fowl to a fist in the face. She stumbled slightly and raised her hands – another mistake – only to gasp and cover her mid section after the Ravagers blade sliced through it.

Starfire dropped to one knee, panting and grinding her teeth together even more. Pain continued to rumble in her gut as blood poured out through her fingers and began to drip onto the floor. She looked up at the dark girl wielding the blade and her eyes glowed green, before firing a line of equally green energy at her.

The Ravager effortlessly moved to the side before she had even fired and the shot went wide. Starfire growled and charged her opponent. The Ravager used Starfire's momentum against her and sent her flying into the room and crashing over Dick's bed. She landed against the wall with a thug, cracking it like her fist had the wall earlier.

The Ravager strolled over leisurely, twirling her blade. Starfire growled. The Ravagers luscious ruby red lips smirked.

Starfire charged again, swinging wildly, but the Ravager had already ducked. The Ravager came up behind Starfire and grabbed her arm, twisting it up and around. Starfire used her enormous strength to pull her arm back around.

She came face to face with the Ravager – the Ravager smirked – her eyes widened – the Ravager's foot came up – Starfire gasped – the Ravager's foot connected with Starfire's bleeding wound and Starfire went crashing through the window behind her.

The Ravager took her time peering over the edge of the window. She looked down at Starfire's motionless body on the ground below her, just visible from this height, and smiled to herself.

"Daddy will be proud."

(----)

Cyborg dodged an attack from one of the Slade Bots only to be trapped by another two just behind him. He growled low in his throat. The numbers game was almost too much for him. Almost. With his enormous strength he flung the two bots behind him forward over his head and into the first bot, before aiming his Sonic Cannon and blasting them away.

Cyborg turned his attention to another group of Slade Bots and charged, firing his cannon as he went. He ducked one attack and came up on the other side, smashing his metallic fist straight through one of the Bots, the sound of grinding metal through metal exploding into the air with the impact. He followed through, tossing the robot around and into another, where it exploded, taking out at least two more in the explosion.

Where he in any other situation, he would most likely have grinned and shouted a triumphant 'Booyah', but not this time. This time he only continued his attack, jumping back into the fray.

(----)

Terra had quickly called up her trusty allies from the ground to help her fend of the Slade bots as they crowded her. She jumped over the head of one of the bots and landed on the other side, flinging a spear shaped rock right through the offending robot. It exploded and she flung up her arm to protect her eyes from the blast. When she removed her arm she gasped.

Slade was standing right in front of her.

She didn't have time to react as he sucker punched her in the face, knocking her backwards to the floor. He leered down at her and she cowered in fear. It was almost impossible to imagine she could fear one man so much, but nothing was impossible when it came to Slade.

"If it isn't my dear sweet Terra," Slade mocked. "I hope you are doing well."

Slade and his taunting actually served to spur her on in this case, and she called up all the anger she could and flung it at him in the form of five rocks. Slade jumped high to avoid them, using his Bo Staff to leap frog over one and land on the other side of her as she stood. The rocks exploded behind her as they crashed into one another and she ducked to avoid the scattering remains.

Slade, ever the opportunist, took the opening and charged again. She barely had time to react as his fist caught her again and she stumbled backwards, towards the broken Titans window. She braced herself on the remains of the window, but gasped as she cut her hand on a stray piece of glass. Slade followed through.

(----)

Kid Flash had drawn as many Bots away from the common room as he could, using his speed to lure them away. He currently sped through the hallways, the Slade Bots that gave chase falling behind as he used his super speed. He stopped and turned to look back, finding the corridor empty. He'd definitely lost them, no surprise there. He turned to continue his trek back around to the common room, but stopped, staring in shock at the gathering of Slade Bots.

"Crap." He cursed and then disappeared, speeding off back the way he came, only to appear less than a second later when he came crashing down to the floor, smashing his elbow painfully into floor at super speed. It broke with a sick crack and he cried out in pain.

"Oops." It was the mockingly sweet voice of the Ravager.

Kid Flash rolled onto his back, cradling his broken elbow and stared up at the Ravager, who loomed above him, hip stuck out to one side all sexy like…_woah, wait a second_, he quickly banished that thought away. He shook his head and then gulped. She had placed her trusty Katana to his throat.

"Sorry about this," she said, smiling with her blood red lips. "Daddy's orders."

(----)

The Ravager looked down at Kid Flash as he looked up at her, trying to mask the pain his broken arm caused him, and failing miserably. She knew her orders where to kill all the Titans she could, but she found herself hesitating. After all, he was kinda cute. She shook that thought away; much like Kid Flash had done only a moment before.

"Well," Kid Flash groaned. "Get it over with then."

She raised her sword and then brought it down…

(----)

Kid Flash closed his eyes…and then opened them a second later, startled to find the Ravager straddling his waist and leaning down, her sword cast to one side. He looked up at her blue lenses, trying to see her eyes, but couldn't. He had no idea what she was doing and was too surprised to take advantage of it. His eyes fell to her luscious lips and he watched as she licked them, mesmerized.

She grabbed his mask and tore it off, ripping it in the process, but he hardly cared, as a second later she had fistfuls of his hair in her hands and her lips where on his in the hottest kiss of his life…well, the only kiss of his life. Not even the unbearable pain in his arm could dull this.

It was over way to soon, and he opened his mouth say something, he had no idea what, but the words never came. The Ravager dashed his head back against the floor and he fell into unconsciousness.

(----)

Cyborg smashed through another Slade Bot, dropping it to the floor to join the rest of the broken down drones. He looked up, his eyes falling on a horrifying sight. Slade was attacking Terra. He growled as Slade punched her and she went backwards, and then quickly charged forward, only to be blocked by the only remaining Bots left. The trio fell on him and he struggled to hold them off.

(----)

Slades fist hit the windowsill as Terra hopped up onto the ledge, before jumping backwards out of the window. She appeared a moment later, smirking, riding a large chuck of earth.

Slade cocked his head at her and her smirk disappeared, replaced by a frown.

She looked down.

Her eyes widened.

(----)

Cyborg tossed the last Robot to the side, stomping on its head for good measure. He looked up and saw Slade throw one of his exploding tags out of the window. A moment later Cyborgs world fell apart.

**BANG! **

The loud explosion made something snap in Cyborgs head. He knew what the explosion signified, but he didn't want to believe it. She'd be all right. She had to be. But one thing was for sure; Slade wasn't going to be all right.

Cyborg roared and charged, firing his Sonic Cannon at Slade. Slade knew it was coming though and dodged to the side. Cyborg changed course to intercept him and swung a fist. Slade dodged with speed unrivalled by any normal human and swung his Bo Staff at Cyborgs legs, using his momentum to put more force behind it. Cyborg couldn't counter in time and went down, finding himself trapped under Slades metal boot. Cyborg knew he could easily break free, but he wanted answers first. Let Slade think he had the advantage.

"What did you do to Raven?" he growled, raising his hands to Slade leg and gripping hard.

Slade laughed cruelly and leaned down, putting more weight on Cyborgs throat.

"I snapped her neck like a twig." He hissed.

Cyborgs eyes narrowed. He refused to believe that as well, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it to be true.

"Liar!" he roared at Slade, flinging Slade's leg away from his body and scrambling to his feet.

Slade met him with a solid punch to the jaw, which only served to stun Cyborg, but it was enough. Cyborg retaliated with a right of his own and Slade stumbled back.

"I'm going to kill you," Cyborg stated.

"Oh really," Slade said, the tone of his voice catching Cyborg of guard. "I'm pretty sure that device on your chest will say otherwise."

Cyborgs eyes widened in surprise and he looked down, but it was too late. The circular device on his chest glowed red and before he knew what was happening his body was convulsing with electricity. Cyborg fell to his knees. His vision went black, numbers streamed across his vision, and then he fell forward, landing with a dull clunk. He didn't move again.

(----)

High above the Earth the Watchtower floated serenely, but all that was about to change. J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, sat in his usual place watching over the Earth when he sensed the chaos and grief emanating from Titans Tower. He quickly cast his mind that way and was horrified at what he found.

_Batman_, he called telepathically, _we have trouble_.

(----)

In the early years of the Titans, the Justice League had been keeping a very close watch on the goings on at Titans Tower and in Jump City and where known to take over when things looked even a little risky for the young heroes. The Titans soon grew annoyed with this and after a long and temper filled argument it was eventually decided the Justice League would leave Jump City and the Titans alone and let them handle things.

But even though the Justice League had agreed not to get involved in the Titans business, they still had two teleport pads on top of Titans Tower. It was here that two figures materialises out of thin air.

Batman and Superman gave each other quick glances before dashing into Titans Tower proper to look for their young counterparts.

(----)

Batman raced down the hallway, heading for the common room. Superman had taken to searching most of the Tower, using his speed to his advantage. Batman only had one stop left on his search, and he hoped more than anything he would find what he was looking for.

When he arrived in the common room he was to be disappointed, but he didn't let that hinder him, and quickly strode into the room and looked around. The place was a mess. He almost didn't recognise the scrap of metal and flesh in the broken down Slade Bots, but there was no mistaking the form of Victor Stone, the Titans Cyborg. He crossed to him and knelt, placing his hands under the teenager's heavy bulk and lifting him.

He didn't have time to waste. Any minute now the Tower could explode.

(----)

The ocean surrounding Titans Tower was still, belying the chaos that raged inside its walls. That was to change though, as a red blur zipped along the surface of the water, sending up twin torrents of water as it went. The blur came to a stop at the foot of the Tower, revealing the figure of the Flash, Wally West.

The Flash looked up at the Tower above him, remembering the times he had spent with Dick here, but he quickly dashed those thoughts. He didn't have time to dawdle. He was just about to zip up the wall and enter the Tower when he caught site of a figure lying on the floor not too far from him. He appeared next to the figure in a moment and froze in horror.

"Oh God," The Flash felt bile rise in his throat. He forced it down and crouched by the figure of Terra.

Her body was mangled, cuts dotting her face, blood pooling around her head, but what was the most sickening was the large rock that lay over the bottom half of her body. There could be no doubt. Terra's legs had been crushed.

The Flash looked up in time to see Batman looking out of the common room window. A moment later, with a swish of his cloak, the Batman landed beside him with the lifeless body of Cyborg in his arms. Batman cast his eyes down at Terra and his jaw tightened. It was the only sign Bruce made of his disgust, but Wally saw it.

"Any sign of Bart?" Wally asked.

Bruce shook his head. "Superman is searching."

A moment later and the man appeared, clutching both Nightwing and Starfire over his considerably large shoulders.

"Bart?" Wally asked again.

Superman placed the two teens down on the floor and looked at Wally as Bruce knelt by Dick. "I saw him on the way out. Hang on."

Less than a minute later and Superman appeared again, this time carrying Bart over his shoulder. He handed him gently to Wally.

"We have to leave quickly." He said.

Bruce nodded.

(----)

Across from their very location, on the shore of Jump city, Slade and the Ravager watched, unaware that the Justice League was about to save the lives of the Teen Titans, mostly. Slade smiled in anticipation.

"This is a glorious day." Slade told his daughter.

The explosion of Titans Tower transcended beyond the island, shaking the very Earth under his feet, but Slade stood on and watched as the Tower fell. The rubble floated down to the ground in flaming fireballs almost like leaves caught on the wind (or at least that's how it seemed to him). A plume of smoke rose from what remained of the Tower. Behind them sirens soon began to blare. Jump City had just lost its defenders.

"The Teen Titans are gone." He said it proudly.

"Yes Daddy."

(-----)

Well that's the end of it. At least for this story anyway. Not sure when I'll get around to posting the continuation, or what form it will take, as I'm not sure I have enough time to do what I originally planned. I have a few chapters already written for it, which I might post pretty soon, but I'll probably think on it a little before that and decide what I want to do. Anyway, hope you all liked, looking forward to what reviews I get. 'Tis always a pleasure.

**Piccolo999**


End file.
